Little Lion Man
by GleeGeneration23
Summary: When Jackson Avery was fifteen he did something unthinkable-he impregnated a girl. Now nearly thirteen years later Jackson Avery MD is starting nearly his fourth year of surgical residency at the newly merged Seattle Grace Mercy West with his son who seems to create more drama than some of the doctors. Watch the pretty ripples…starts at 6x05 and ends at 8x22
1. 6x05-Invasion

**Hi, so if anyone of you know me then you'll know that I really shouldn't be starting another long story that I probably will only be able to finish in about twenty years-if you don't know me then let me tell you I shouldn't be starting another long winded story. However this just popped into my head while I was doing my exams and then this was born-I was watching old episodes and I realised that with the exception of Izzie's daughter nobody on the show really had children from a young age. (Bailey not included) so this was born. I initially wanted to write Alex as a teenage father but I changed my mind so now it's Jackson.**

 **Hugo has just turned 13 in this cannon-Jackson was fifteen which means he was four when he graduated, seven when he finished collage, eleven when he finished Med School and then I roughly think in the Grey's Anatomy timeline it's been about three years what with the continuing throughout the seasons but like I said I'm not sure so any inaccuracies please tell me**

 **If nobody likes this then I will keep it as a Oneshot. However let me know if you want another chapter.**

 **This will be as cannon as I able to write it however the main character isn't cannon so this story is massively AU. April and Jackson will be the main couple as normal however there is the big curveball that is Hugo Avery. I am not a medical expert so if I misspell or get anything wrong then I apologise...**

 **Let me know if you think that this is a story worth pursing and I will update accordingly.**

 **Please Read And Review.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine just Hugo Avery**

* * *

Little Lion Man

When Jackson Avery was fifteen he did something unthinkable-he impregnated a girl. Now nearly thirteen years later Jackson Avery MD is starting nearly his fourth year of surgical residency at the newly merged Seattle Grace Mercy West with his son who seems to create more drama than some of the doctors. Watch the pretty ripples unfurl…

Chapter 1-6x05-Invasion.

* * *

"Hugo I am leaving now, if you want a ride you had better be down in two minutes flat" Jackson Avery MD (and yes he was damn proud of that title thank you very much) was stood at the door of the rather modest apartment he shared with Charles Percy (his best friend since Med School) and his son wishing the later would hurry up…being late for work wasn't something that he let happen especially not today on his first day at the newly merged hospital.

That of course meant that he had to factor in his son, the thirteen year old Hugo Jaiden Avery had to actually get out the door so Jackson could drop him off at school on the way to start his shift. One of the only factors about this hospital was that it was closer to Hugo's school as opposed to the other hospital which had nearly been an hour in the opposite direction.

There was a large loud thud from upstairs which meant that Hugo had finally found whatever Converse he was looking for out of the sixty pairs he had up in his room (and where he found the money for it Jackson didn't know, because he had enough debts to _cripple_ himself never mind all the money he had spent on Hugo whenever he had the chance-he just hoped his son wasn't a secret criminal on the side because he so wasn't in the mood to deal with that and it would be just his luck)

He staggered down the stairs a second later looking irritated but still so incredibly good looking, (and yeah that wasn't Jackson being biased at all) Hugo was a generally an easy going kid, with his shock of dark Avery hair and his sharp cheekbones and dark eyes.

* * *

It hadn't been easy. The last thirteen years had been single handled a mixture of the best and the hardest of Jackson Avery's life. When he was fifteen his current…well whatever she was at the time had pulled him aside and told him in between second and third period that she was pregnant with his child.

Being the son of Catherine and Harper Avery JR, two world class surgeon's in their own right he knew the options presented with him should his mother or Grandfather find out. Abortion would be the medical path that they would both want, while adoption was also an option they would convince him off. However he had known deep down what he wanted from the second he had seen the little plus sign on the plastic test.

He had wanted his baby.

It hadn't been easy convincing his mother and grandfather both of whom seemed convinced he was ruining his life forever, it had become even more complicated when Livy the girl (who both her and her family were against abortion and other medical practices that made his grandfather scoff at the Sunday Dinner Table) had developed pre-eclampsia during the sixth month. And a month later the baby boy had been delivered via C-Section and pressed into an incubator so fast that Jackson couldn't see anything but a sliver of dark brown hair. He had been sat at the tiny incubator for nearly three hours before his mother had sat down and explained what haemorrhage was and that Livy was dead.

It had been quick and final and bloody and even then at the age of fifteen sat by his son's little cot and not knowing if he was even going to survive the night Jackson Avery had felt like the world was going to swallow him whole and never let him come up for air.

And then by some sheer miracle the baby survived the night and then the next and then the next and then he was taking more and more fluids and then he was able to rest in Jackson's arms and listen to Jackson tell him stories-things that they would do together as soon as he was healthy.

It was also the time when Jackson Avery decided should he become a surgeon-it wouldn't be in any field that consisted of small children or babies, the thought made his stomach turn.

He named the baby Hugo simply because the name stuck. He had been such a small thing back then that the name Hugo seemed fitting. And then he continued. He started college studying biology-he had been forced to leave the nearly four year old Hugo with his mother (whom he suspected did not hate the idea of being a grandmother as much as she had initially let on) and while they had skyped every chance they got it was still like having his insides ripped out every time he missed an occasion that he should have been at.

* * *

And then there had been Med School. Thankfully the school he had applied to had a Day Care on site and it was easier to move Hugo down with him and leave him overnight should he have to with some of the other parents he had become friends with.

It was there that he had met Charles Percy, the goofy but yet smart man who had sat down next to him at lunch and promptly bitched about their Organic Chemistry teacher. When they had later moved into an apartment four years later with the eight year old Hugo Charles had been accepting of the whole situation bonding with Jackson's son over old comic books like Captain America and fast becoming the only person Jackson really trusted with his son other than his mother.

They had started surgical training at Mercy West Hospital in Seattle there meeting Reed Adamson the sharp and often tactless (read sometimes bitchy in Hugo's opinion) and the quirky if not neurotic April Kepner. And now after nearly four years at Mercy West the Hospital was now merging with Seattle Grace leading to Jackson's current dilemma getting his son out the front door and into school. There had just been enough time to celebrate Hugo's thirteenth birthday three days before the merger and now he had a teenaged son to deal with.

"Jeez Dad chill" Hugo said rolling his eyes as he finally decided to grace Jackson with his presence. He was at least dressed in a pair of jeans that didn't have more holes in them than cloth which was an improvement on what had previously been. He had matched it with a checked shirt that looked semi-clean and all in all it was a good look for him.

"Did I mention I have a new job?" he snapped letting Charles lock up and nearly dragging Hugo to the car in his irritation. "Lot's of Doctor's I have to impress, people that need to be cut open?"

Hugo rolled his eyes "Only the last five hundred times" he muttered before sighing in the back "I don't know why the two of you worry. What's the worst that could happen?"

As it turned out quite a lot.

* * *

Jackson's first impression wasn't much. Dr Hunt seemed much more than capable as did a Dr Bailey than the rest of the surgeons, (at least he suspected that the two of them trusted the residents that they took into surgery to do their job with pleasure), Dr Sloan the Plastic Surgeon spent a great deal of time staring at one of the interns asses (Lexie something) and Dr Shepard apparently sent April and Reed into convulsions due to his good looks despite the fact that he was married and happily so according to the rumours, and then there was the residents.

There was a guy he knew had just died (and he honestly wanted to shake Reed silly when she took his cubby-way to paint them all with the same brush) and there was four left, Izzie Stevens, the resident Charles had been paired up with who had survived cancer and who he had apparently gotten fired on her first day back. Her husband Alex Karev who did what he wanted when he wanted and who Jackson suspected hadn't been fired out of sheer luck, there was the infamous daughter of Elis Grey, Meredith who was in hospital after just having her kidney removed, but she seemed nice if not a little cold, and then there was the Dr Cristina Yang, she seemed more than capable at her job with a thirst for blood but she irritated the fuck out of him (he sincerely hoped that never had a solo surgery in her OR she'd probably stab him if he got in her way with a syringe) and then there were the familiar faces of his colleges, April, Reed, Charles who at the end of the day all looked as exhausted as he felt.

When he staggered home he felt (and probably looked like) shit. Hugo was waiting up for him, Charles had been forced to stay behind to fill out some paperwork regarding the whole 'Izzie Steven's case thing Jackson still didn't understand and he was getting his own ride home.

"You should be in bed" he said gently as Hugo staggered up of the couch from where he had fallen asleep, it was only a little after nine but Hugo had always been an early sleeper, he leant into Jackson who wrapped one arm around his son pulling him close smelling that smell he was still convinced Hugo had kept with him since he was a newborn, it made Jackson's eyes involuntarily droop.

The day had been long and tiring for the both of them it seemed.

"Got a B in Chemistry" Hugo muttered sleepily and Jackson grinned "Good for you-I nearly got tackled by a deranged and homicide father who found out his best friend was sleeping with his nineteen year old daughter"

Hugo snorted standing up if not staggering slightly due to the exhaustion. Jackson made a mental note to make sure he was sleeping probably. Hugo had had problems with insomnia in the past-a mixture of staying up late waiting for him to come home when his babysitter or neighbour had inevitably fallen asleep or gone home or when he had been studying for a test and the Harper Avery Genes had come out forcing him to study until he was past the brink of exhaustion and beyond.

"S'only a hospital Dad" Hugo muttered on his way up to bed having allowed Jackson to at least hug him goodnight "What's the worst that could happen?"

And right there and then Jackson Avery had a horrible feeling that he was about to find out.

Well at least he had Hugo along for the ride.

* * *

 **Next Chapter-(Hopefully there will be a next one)-6x06-I Saw What I Saw-Jackson continues to work at Seattle Grace while juggling parenthood, and deals with the death of a patient and the loss of a work friend.**

 **And let me know what you think of this and if it's worth continuing**


	2. 6x06-I Saw What I Saw

**Hi, so thank you all for your interest in this story, this is a small chapter and the chapters will be becoming more AU especially as Jackson isn't in much of Season 6.**

 **This is short and sweet and just a little filler-I am going away for a couple of weeks and will be completely cut of from Wifi however when I get back my updates will be more regular.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine, not a medical expert either.**

 **Please Read and Review. And thank you for all your encouragement so far.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 2- 6x06-I Saw What I Saw-

In which Jackson attempts to juggle parenting when he loses a patient and a close friend and colleague.

* * *

Jackson hated night shifts. There wasn't really anything wrong with them. He always got some sleep afterwards but there was something about Hugo putting himself to bed and then waking himself up without Jackson's help that didn't sit right with him.

Charles at least smiled at him as he got changed. He had to give blood before going on duty as did most of the residents when the blood drive happened and therefore he was sat on the bed with his cookie.

"Relax" he said gently closing his eyes "Hugo is a smart kid, he can cook and look after himself-at least you know he's not going to be throwing a party on a Monday night" he opened one eye "He's not going to be throwing a part is he?" Jackson rolled his eyes. "No he's not" he said throwing his left over cookie to the side. He had better not.

"I don't like it" he said finally "I'm supposed to be there for him you know?"

Charles sighed "It sucks dude I know-I love the little guy as well-but at least you're together and he's not at your Mom's in New York or wherever she is"

The conversation turned then to the Seattle Grace residents and Jackson was glad for the change. He admitted that he liked Karev-the bastard might be cold and unfriendly but he was good at his job, Yang he personally didn't like-she was brutal in a way that made his skin crawl no matter how brilliant she pretended to be or actually was. She seemed like the type of person that would stab Hugo with a syringe if it meant that she got to be in the OR pulling it out.

And if Jackson was sure of one thing it would be that he would be damned before someone got near his son without his permission. God forbid if Hugo needed an operation he would be the surgeon doing it, or at least he would be in the room with him.

Meredith Grey was still recovering at home from her liver transplant and therefore Jackson had yet to come face to face with the daughter of the legendary Ellis Grey, from all the talk about her she seemed like she was a competent surgeon (if you looked past the whole 'McDreamy' rumours that circulated and Jackson did)

"These Seattle Grace people are kinda douchey" he said leaning back against the bed. Charles shot him a warning look and he shrugged when he saw Alex Karev glaring at him from where he was sat on the bed twirling his phone in his hands.

Whatever would have gone down then was cut off as his beeper sounded signalling an upcoming trauma.

He cleared his thoughts of Hugo with a shuddering breath, he could go and potentially operate on someone's child when all he could think about was his own fast asleep at home.

* * *

It was a mess. Trauma after trauma came pouring in including a woman with burns to the skin. With Dr Sloan busy with a teenager with scars that left Jackson with other patients. His workload was just beginning to ease up when he saw Lexie Grey struggle to apply a test tube into the woman's throat. Just as he was finishing up that catastrophe in waiting-and there was really no need to thank him he heard the piercing wail that he knew could only be the sound of a child crying.

He stopped every instinct in him making him want to turn around, to hug that little boy against him, running his hands through his hair and down his back like he would do whenever Hugo had had a nightmare and needed hug and more than that spend the night in his bed curled against him.

He had to take his hands away and go the nearest bathroom to calm down before the shaking got out of control.

When he came back Karev was already working on the seriously worsening woman. He couldn't think. He had April next to him, Reed screaming in his ear, Charles shouting instructions over the phone, Yang and Karev and nurses after nurses, and then suddenly Doctor Shepherd was there his voice loud and clear and cutting in the way only a board certified surgeon was.

"You've lost her" he said finally before repeating the question "Whose patient was she?" and wasn't that the golden question.

The lot of them, him, April, Reed, Charles, Yang, Karev, Lexie, and the rest were hauled outside of the chief's room. The board wanted blood and it appeared that blood was what they would apparently get.

And then Karev made a fatal mistake while Jackson and the rest of them were waiting outside. It had started when Jackson had asked him about the numerous phone calls that he had and Karev had snarled "Why you need to nip home and check whoever Hugo is hasn't wet himself without you…" he hadn't really had the chance to finish that threat as Jackson's fist had connected with his mouth and then suddenly Sloan was pulling them apart looking old and tired.

He had given his interrogation the attention it had deserved and the Chief looked marginally pleased when he had finished which Jackson took as a sign that his career wasn't over just yet.

He stepped out just as Reed went in and watched as some time later she came out reaching for April looking ashen. He forced himself to his feet watching with dread…he didn't hate Reed…wouldn't like the idea of operating with her but he didn't hate her but she couldn't possibly have thrown April under the bus just to get whatever they had promised her…would she?

Turns out she had.

* * *

When April had walked out after being fired her head held high in a way that Jackson couldn't help but admire her for he felt sick to his stomach. He got changed in absolute silence. Charles was planning to buy the crying Reed a drink but he couldn't stand the thought of being anywhere that wasn't with his son.

As he passed his scrubs in his locker like usual he saw Chief Webber come out to talk to a brunette man dripping with rain. He was clutching the small kid Yang had shouted at and he was asleep in his father's lap completely at ease and unaware at how his life was about to change.

Something inside him lurched. He made it back to his car, flipping his phone on. The background screen was of Hugo and him when he had graduated Med School. He was curled up close to him arms around him like nothing was wrong.

He staggered home in silence. He wanted to pour himself a drink but he didn't honestly think he'd stop. He wanted to curl up in the shower but that could wait till morning and his bed just seemed to cold.

He ended up in Hugo's room, the floor was a mess of shoes and jeans and books (he should really get him to clean that up) the room itself was dark blue and Hugo seemed tiny in the bed his head with its tuft of brown hair sticking up. He slid down next to the bed leaning back against the side feeling drained.

It was only through listening to Hugo's deep breaths that Jackson finally let his body shut down and fall asleep.

* * *

 **Next Chapter-6x07-Give Peace A Chance-Jackson has the surgery of a lifetime to preform, Hugo however begins to feel under the weather. **


	3. 6x07-Give Peace A Chance

**Hi so here is chapter 3. I've been away and only just got back which is why this chapter is a little late.**

 **Also someone asked me if I will keep the whole Jackson/Lexie Jackson/Stephanie cannons I intend to keep this as cannon as possible but obviously certain storylines will change as I continue this story. And obviously we know which couple is endgame.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine only Hugo.**

 **Please read and review, I love feedback...**

 **And hopefully I will update sooner than I did this time.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 3-6x07-Give Peace A Chance

Jackson has the surgery of a lifetime to preform while Hugo begins to feel under the weather.

* * *

"Hugo!" Jackson yelled once again wondering why he was waiting for his troublesome son to make his way down the stairs. He eventually climbed up them feeling irritated. Charles had been on Bailey's nightshift meaning that he had most of the morning in bed and Jackson needed to get into work. He was on Derek Shepherd's service today and he damn well wanted to get to work. Tumours were one of those things-if you had a patient with one you knew you would be scrubbing in.

Much to his surprise (and annoyance) Hugo was still curled up in bed, face white surrounded by his dark bedcovers. He was shaking slightly as if he was cold. "Hugo what the hell?" he snapped "You know I have work to get to"

Hugo shot him a look from the bed wincing slightly. "Dad" he croaked carefully his voice small and pitiful. Jackson carefully sat down on the edge of the bed reaching out to feel Hugo's forehead "You feeling alright?" he said carefully. He wanted to go into work but he knew instinctually that he wouldn't be moving the slightest inch unless he knew that Hugo was well enough to go into school.

"Tired" Hugo muttered under his breathe sitting up and letting Jackson put an arm around him and hoist him up until he was practically in his lap. "…And cold" he said finally.

"You wanna stay home?" Jackson asked carefully only to receive a shrug in return "Not an answer Hugo" he said carefully. Hugo sighed again "Nah" he said finally "I just need to sleep" he shrugged "Haven't been sleeping well" he paused and Jackson was suddenly very aware of how painfully small and young Hugo actually was.

"…Missed you" he slurred quietly and Jackson nodded wrapping both of his arms around his son like he did when he was little and had a nightmare or when his Mom would drive him down to college and they would have the whole day together. "I miss you to" he confessed because it was true, he did miss Hugo, they had both known that the surgical residency would be a long strain on their relationship but he hadn't factored in how much he would miss of his kids life. He now knew why many doctors waited to have kids until after they were board certified.

"Tell you what" he said carefully "As far as I am aware Dr Shepherd has no surgeries today so I will hopefully be home on time, Charles and Reed are going out to eat their own weight in Chinese, how about I pick some up and we can stay in all night and re-watch all those Marvel Movies you love so much?"

Hugo made an approving noise "You don't have to drop me in" he said quietly "I can take care of myself"

"I know you can" Jackson muttered quietly because he knew that all too well. Painfully well. "But I like taking care of you remember" he said ruffling the dark hair in front of him.

He kept a close eye on Hugo all the way to the school instructing him to text him the second he felt under the weather. Hugo just rolled his eyes at him but Jackson could tell he was paler than usual and tired. He hoped it was just the lack of sleep that was keeping him up, he felt guilty for not being there as much as he knew he should be. Hugo was his entire freaking world and who would know better than his teenage father how quickly the time went by? It seemed just yesterday that he was a little baby and Jackson was still sleeping by the incubator always wondering and waiting for the alarm to go off and for them to whisk his son away.

* * *

He was just finishing up the release of one of Dr Shepherds patients who had been released after her tumour had been operated on when his pager rang. Dr Shepherd himself was requesting a meeting of all the residencies. Urgently.

"Hey" Reed said popping up next to him grinning brightly "Do you think it's his wife, she's still on bed rest for her kidney transplant, do you think she might be dead?" she didn't sound nearly as upset as she could have done about the death of a work mate.

"Jesus" Karev said from behind him his expression probably the same as Jacksons if his tone was anything to go by "She really is quite something" Jackson really didn't want to say he agreed, even if he did.

And then Dr Shepherd said the magic words that made every single surgical resident in the room sit up and stare with complete attention, he described what could only be described as a brilliant surgery which was probably the longest and most complicated surgery Jackson had ever seen.

'Spinal Tumour'

Everyone was on edge and Jackson couldn't even believe the size of the thing when the scans were shown. The removal of this would take at least sixteen hours if not longer and would probably be the most complex thing he could ever do.

And Jackson got it.

Lexie Grey got it to but he was the only resident of his year who got it. He beat out Karev, he beat out Charles and Reed and the one thing that gave him a great personal satisfaction was that he beat out Christina Yang the resident who seemed to think she was God's gift to medicine.

By the time the prepping and the plans were out the way and Dr Shepherd had spent nearly half an hour arguing with Chief Webber about whether or not the tumour could be removed without cutting the spinal cord and the Chief had finally given the go ahead.

Charles had pulled him aside to remark that he wasn't going home he was gonna stay and watch the tumour dissection. Jackson accepted that, he wasn't assuming that Charles was Hugo's babysitter and therefore he wasn't angry.

He rang Hugo to let him know as soon as he had a spare second before scrubbing in. "I thought spinal tumours were inoperable?" Hugo asked carefully his voice bland and Jackson nodded before remembering that Hugo couldn't see him. "It's probably the biggest thing I will ever do Hugo" he said revisiting the urge to jump up and down in glee.

It was a testimony to how well Jackson knew his son that he could _feel_ the raised eyebrow over the phone. "Charles staying?" he asked though by the tone of his voice Jackson could tell he knew.

"Yeah…look Hugo if you wanna come you can see through the gallery?" he asked carefully. Of course there was the added pressure of his son watching him perform surgery and being in a room with Christina Yang all at the same time but…

"Nah I'm fine" Hugo said carefully "I'm gonna order some pizza and then go to bed and sleep"

"You still not feeling great?" he asked carefully and Hugo sighed down the phone "I just…just go do your surgery" he said finally "I just wanna go to bed and get some sleep" Jackson paused torn between wanting to be at home with his child or to take part in the surgery of a lifetime. "I'll wake you up in the morning and tell you how it went…Hugo…if you feel sick ring the hospital and have them page me you understand?"

"Yeah" Hugo deadpanned "This isn't the first time we've been doing this you know?" it was meant to sound like a joke but something was twisted at the end of it that didn't sound right, and certainly didn't sit right. "Just…Good Luck…try not to clip the guy's spine"

And then just like that. It was gone. The three of them, Lexie, him, Shepherd spent what must have been half the night staring at an open spine-which ok-impressive in it's self but still. There was still the nagging doubt that he should be home with Hugo, and then Chief Webber swept through the OR like it was nothing.

And then the surgery was pulled.

* * *

By the time he got home he was hungry, exhausted, frustrated and in a dire need of a shower. He bit his lip when he saw Hugo. He had ultimately passed out on the sofa and had, had Netflix running by the look of it. Quietly he felt his forehead, Hugo was still hot and clammy but he looked a lot more peaceful when he was asleep.

"Hey" he whispered shaking him awake slightly and Hugo jumped slightly his eyes blurry with sleep. "You need to stop falling asleep on the couch" Jackson said tucking him back into the nest of blankets that were keeping him warm. Hugo shrugged. "How did it go?" he asked carefully leaning his head back against Jackson's shoulder his eyes closing again.

"Chief cancelled it after he realised that Dr Shepherd had spent ten hours staring at an open spine and didn't do anything"

Hugo sat up looking incredulous. Jackson couldn't help the smile that developed when he saw that looked because A. Hugo was adorable and B. That looked proved he was an Avery through and through.

"The idiot didn't do anything but make you stand there for ten hours?" he asked his voice rising in disbelief and Jackson nodded reaching for the cold pizza on the table. "Just stared at it" he said chewing. Hugo yawned leaning back against his shoulder snuggling down like he used to do when he was a kid and he and Jackson had the whole night to themselves when his Mom would drop him off when he was at college.

"What's an open spine even look like?" Hugo asked carefully reaching for his own slice of cold pizza. There was times like this that Jackson was pointedly reminded that Hugo was from a family of Doctors. "Let me tell you" he said gently wrapping an arm around him and pulling him back "Let me tell you all about it…"

* * *

The next day Hugo seemed a lot quieter than usual but it was a Friday so Jackson dropped him off at school and didn't think much of it. Probably exhaustion-they had spent half the night talking about open spine tumours until the two of them had fallen asleep on the couch.

"Derek needs you" Lexie said skipping up close to him grinning brightly. "He's going to cut the tumour, finally…" she sighed "If he's right and the Chief lets him then Isaac is gonna get a brand new lease on life"

Jackson decided to not comment on the fact that Lexie had spent the entirety of the surgery yesterday wearing a dipper. Somethings just shouldn't be mentioned when near attending's. Plus Lexie had a relationship with Mark Sloan under her belt and even Jackson knew that the womanizer was one of the best plastic surgeons in the country.

Ergo you don't piss of Lexie Grey.

And then what went and happened? Jackson went and botched it. He couldn't see past what he was seeing, couldn't think and when Lexie finally took the tools off him and Mark Sloan passed him a glass of water and Bailey told him to sit down and not move he did only then aware of how his legs were shaking.

And then nobody could move or speak, half of the attending surgeons that were free were all but throwing themselves into the room to see what was happening. Christina Yang who was on the phone to Derek's wife was all but thrown against the gallery glass watching with wide eyes.

And then just like that the tumour was cut.

The second the right cut was announced the whole of the surgical residents collapsed in a state of euphoria. Honestly Jackson wasn't quite sure how he had managed to live through the last two days.

"We did it" he said down the phone the second he could find feeling in his legs. "Get all the Pizza and Ice Cream you want because we did it!" Hugo carefully didn't say anything just let his father rant down the phone hysterically. "I mean it Hugo right now I am likely to get you whatever you want…"

"Your Credit Card number?" Hugo muttered under his breath and Jackson rolled his eyes feeling elated.

"No but you can order something if you want-anything in fact, and now this is over I think that I can finally go home and get some sleep"

* * *

When he did get home Hugo was upstairs asleep. It seemed stranger behaviour than usual his sleeping had now increased considerably and he seemed to struggle to eat the pizza he had brought home but Jackson suspected that that was because he kept bringing home pizza. He needed to start the shifts earlier and attempt to be home in time to make sure Hugo was eating right.

But other than that when he slid into his bed grateful for the first chance he had had to lie down in the last two days. As soon as his head hit the pillow he was out. He had a great job where he made a difference, good friends, and a wonderful son who he loved with everything he was and everything he would ever be.

Nothing could go possibly go wrong now.

* * *

 **Next Chapter-6x08-Invest In Love-Jackson gets involved with Christina while Hugo hides his steadily growing illness from his father. **


	4. 6x08-Invest In Love

**Ha, so I bet you all thought I forgot about you...well I didn't...as many of you know results days are nearly upon us and I spent a long time panicking myself into a nervous wreak over them...however...all that's over so I therefore post this chapter as an apology.**

 **To recap some questions asked. To the best of my knowledge until the next episode or maybe the one afterwards Meredith is still in bed recovering from her Kidney donation-Ellen being on maternity leave at the time-or so I read-however she's gonna be coming back and as we all know Meredith and Jackson have some cute bonding scenes ahead...**

 **April is still fired so therefore she's not in the story at the minute however Derek hires her back and therefore she will be in some chapters with Jackson really soon...**

 **Next Chapter is going to be much, much more longer...and much more hurt/comfort...**

 **Any questions, please ask-as always your reviews mean the world to me so keep em coming in!**

 **Disclaimer-Hugo is mine not Grey's (McSteamy, McDreamy, George, Lexie and so forth would all be alive if it was)**

 **Please read and review and hopefully I will be able to update sooner...**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 4-6x08-Invest In Love

Jackson shares a moment with Christina Yang while Hugo struggles to hide his steadily growing illness from his father.

* * *

When Jackson woke up after the nightmare that was the spinal tumour he was aware of two things. A. Hugo was downstairs cooking which never happened…and B. there seemed to be some kind of party happening that he was invited too as confirmed by several messages by Lexie. But still…Hugo was cooking…

Again Charles was absent-his roommate focusing all his attention on the night shift where he was learning General from Doctor Bailey. And Hugo was cooking…Hugo who had only made a dish once…his infamous Muscle Curry and that had been enough to put Jackson on his back for a week…so when he finally made it down the stairs he regarded the situation with the wide eyes.

Hugo was stood over the kitchen poking some scrambled eggs carefully his brow furrowed…he paused…there was something…call it father's intuition but if made him pause. There was something about the situation that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Hugo only ever cooked whenever he wanted something or whenever he felt guilty. Jackson sincerely hoped it was the first…over the years he had found it difficult to discipline Hugo-he blamed this on his boy being so damn adorable.

Really it wasn't fair. Why was his baby so cute?

"Your cooking" he said flatly and Hugo rolled his eyes biting down on his bottom lip but Jackson was to tired and strained from the massive tumour he had dissected to notice anything…if only he had known what was coming next…

"I can cook you know" Hugo muttered rolling his eyes, it was a Saturday and the eggs didn't look destroyed which was saying something. "Yeah…I remember the Mussel's Curry incident" Jackson said pulling Hugo so his back was resting against Jackson's chest pressing a kiss into the mess of dark hair. Hugo rolled his eyes. "That was a year ago…move on"

He paused carefully spooning the eggs onto the plate toying with his own fork as he turned off the gas and sat down.

"By the way there's some party with the residents for Doctor Robbins that I'm gonna go too…Someone needs to make sure that Charles doesn't humiliate himself in front of Reed or pass out because of to many night shifts" he paused waiting for at least the smile Hugo generally gave him whenever he made a joke that he didn't want to admit was funny but frowned when all he got was a non-committal nod.

"Hugo you sure your feeling alright?" he asked reaching so he could tug Hugo's pointed chin so that his eyes could meet his. "Hugo" he repeated his voice gaining in concern when he got no answer but Hugo biting his lip before he looked up, "I'm fine" he said finally "I just want sleep until the weekend" Jackson stared his eyes roaming every inch of his son's face he'd catalogued since birth. Something was defiantly wrong.

Jackson paused again before making up his mind "I'll go to the party-give Doctor Robbins her present then I'll come straight home-and then if your'll still not better then I'm gonna take you into the clinic and force Doctor Bailey to look at you herself"

Hugo stared at him flatly "You worry too much" he said ducking his head down and frowning slightly at his eggs. Jackson nodded running his hand through his sons mess of dark hair just because he knew that annoyed him and always had even when he was a baby "Yeah but if I don't worry then who will?" Hugo gave him a stare that reminded Jackson almost painfully of the fact that his boy was a teenager…

And the day only went from bad to worse.

* * *

He spent the majority of his day in the Paediatric Ward with Doctor Robbins. There was something about that ward that made his skin crawl slightly. Maybe it was that gut instinct that a parent felt when he saw a kid that could have been Hugo in a hospital bed if something all those years ago had gone wrong.

He was watching Doctor Robbins explain about the kid-Wallace's surgical issue with one eye on his parents the whole time. The whole thing just made him want to call Hugo even though he knew he would be in school.

"You know the kid's fine" Charles said to him in the locker room as they were preparing for surgery "He's probably just exhausted himself, you know that kid works to hard-harder than I did anyway and I still got into Med School" Jackson rolled his eyes feeling utterly irritated with Charles and not for the first time.

Charles patted him on the shoulder. There were times rare though they may be that Jackson seriously wondered why he had become friends with Charles Percy in the first place.

And like he slowly realised-the day always could get worse. It was Yang. It was always Yang… Jackson could only watch in amazement as she disobeyed two leading surgeons and did the procedure _anyway_ it was halfway between utterly insane and utterly brilliant…the only thing he could be glad off was that his mother wasn't around to see it…knowing her she'd probably give Yang a residency on the spot…if she didn't shoot her on sight…

If there was one thing that whole surgery proved (other than the fact that Christina Yang was utterly fantastic-and wasn't that the kicker-he should have been the utterly fantastic one-and wasn't that like his grandfather talking.) it was that if God forbid Hugo ever needed a surgery in his life he was making damn sure Christina Yang was never in the OR with his son-there was brilliance and then there was damn right dangerous.

So when he finally took a breather he stared at his phone the image of Hugo still fresh in his mind. It wasn't like he blamed his son whatsoever for something that ultimately had been his decision but he still wondered what it would have been like if he'd have been like a normal resident-drinking with his buddies when it was all over at the hospital instead of constantly worrying about his son.

It was almost the lowest of the low that he had hit when he had kissed Christina Yang that night. He liked the woman-as dangerous as she was and regardless of the fact that sooner or later he would be required to be on Owen Hunt's residency he went and kissed his girlfriend.

Yeah that had probably been a bad thing to do.

But still, when he came home he staggered upstairs to bed peeking in on Hugo who was still sleeping.

If only he had checked the toilet probably-he could have seen the facts before Hugo made them disappear in the morning. He could have stopped this before it had gotten worse.

If only he had seen the blood that was swirling within his son's vomit.

If only…

He could have stopped what was coming next…

* * *

 **Next Chapter-6x09-New History-The one you've all be waiting for...Hugo finally realises something is wrong and ends up at Seattle Grace Mercy West only to collapse in front of...McSteamy (It's the beginning of a beautiful bromance)...Jackson is still in surgery when he is told the news that his son is in the hospital and in critical condition needing surgery and the whole residents and attending's find out about Hugo all with different reactions...**

 **Oh yeah-Izzie also comes back for a little bit and Richard begins to drink again.**


	5. 6x09-New History

**Hi, so I'm back-this took a long time to write and even reading it again-it literally killed me to write all this angst and heartbreak but I am a sadistic person and this was a headcannon of mine since the start of this story.**

 **So we have a lot of Jackson/Mark bonding in this chapter, a little bit of Mothering Bailey and a lot of Hurt/Comfort.**

 **I am NOT a medical expert-I know that when an appendix bursts other organs can be come infected so I wrote about Hugo's spleen removal like Meredith had hers done in Season 10-if any of what I have written is medically inaccurate I apologise but otherwise I focused the chapter on Jackson's emotions rather than the procedure himself.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing but Hugo is mine.**

 **Any questions you wanna ask please feel free-if not please read and review and let me know what you thought of this chapter.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 5-6x09-New History

In which Hugo finally realises that something is wrong-McSteamy ends up treating him, Jackson is in surgery and nearly loses his mind and everyone reacts to the Doctor's son. Also Izzie returns and Richard starts drinking…again…

* * *

Hugo had been very careful. Actually considering the pain he was in he considered himself to have done a rather good job-he should be congratulated with cookies-actually not cookies-his stomach seemed to be eating itself from the inside out. He had put if off long enough but when he had cleaned the blood out of the bathroom before anyone went in it before work he had thrown up again.

It had been a sheer force of will not to throw up in the car and it had been a combination of his father being half hooked on his phone in his desperation to meet the new Cardiothoracic surgeon and Hugo's acting. He had managed to make it to the bathroom before first period before he gagged so hard he was dizzy throwing up another wave of what looked like the water he had forced down him along with the slice of toast he'd had three mouthfuls of this morning.

Even he however couldn't deny that something was wrong. Bloody water wasn't so good, nor was the fact that his stomach felt like it was twisted into little pieces with razors shredding what was left.

And the only hospital he knew where to go to was the one where his Dad was working at.

Oh fucking fantastic.

He managed to get out of the school grounds and into a cab without anyone noticing him which was a near miracle in Hugo's opinion-the cab driver took one look at him and drove him straight to the hospital. "You need help son?" he asked however Hugo shook his head "Dad works here" he said gesturing inside the ER. "I can find him to pay you…" he said gesturing weekly but the cab driver shook his head "I have a boy about your age at home" he said patting Hugo on the back in a way that was supposed to be gentle but made Hugo feel like his knees were going to give out.

"I'd like to think that someone would do the same thing for him"

Hugo nodded turning around and staggering inside. There were a couple of patients in bed, the nearest Doctor instructing a pretty dark browned haired woman in the stitching up of someone's face. And damn. His Dad wasn't around at all.

He nearly fell over when he bumped into the Doctor. He was tall with that ruggedly handsome older man look that Hugo knew would have half the underage girls in his class throwing their panties at him.

"Damn son you alright?" he said gently sitting Hugo down on the nearest bed. "I'm a Doctor can I help you?"

Hugo nodded but suddenly wished he hadn't because that simple movement made his head ache with everything he had. "Need my Dad" he said slurring over the words "Works here…" he elaborated even as the Doctor forced him back onto the bed probing at his abdomen.

"Lexie page Bailey and get her down here" he said over Hugo's head "Kid…hey kid…" he said again when he realised that Hugo seemed to be drifting. "Who's your Dad? What's your name?"

Hugo coughed slightly his head throbbing and his stomach contracting painfully. "Jackson…Avery" he said finally regaining his voice even though his stomach was so tight it was like the words were being clawed out of him.

"Well shit" came the reply before finally the roaring in his ears took over and he finally faded into oblivion.

* * *

Jackson had just finished his first cardio surgery almost solo (if you count Cristina Yang looking over his shoulder waiting for the second that she could rip the scalpel out from out of his hands-and Doctor Altman who was watching him in a way that made him feel calmer than he had ever felt in an OR) and was scrubbing down his cap off when the door slammed open and Alex Karev came in.

"Sloan and Bailey want you, there in the ER and some kid called Hugo came in looking for you…apparently he's pretty ill…"

Alex had the good sense to flatten himself to the side of the sink as Jackson all but threw himself out of the room the door swinging shut.

"The Hell?" Cristina asked and Alex grinned "Avery was a teenage baby daddy" was all he needed to say.

Jackson had half sprinted into the elevator punching the buttons frantically. He had known…he had known that something was wrong, every instinct in him, every shred of fatherly instinct had told him that something was wrong and now here they were.

He half knocked over Doctor Torres in the rush to get to the Trauma room. Both Doctor Sloan and Doctor Bailey were connecting a central line in Hugo's arm. Doctor Bailey shifted slightly and there on the bed was Hugo…

It was with a great deal of stamina that Jackson's legs didn't go. Hugo was tiny in the bed. His dark hair was plastered back over his face which was pale and clammy. His eyes were closed and to his horror Jackson realised that there was dry blood coating the edge of his mouth.

"Baby" it seemed to alert the others to his presence, it was a plea. Ignoring them he reached out leaning over Hugo's prone body as if shielding him from the prying eyes of his colleagues. "Hugo" he said again hoping that the crack in his voice didn't sound as pronounced as it did to him.

"Avery" Doctor Bailey said pulling on his sleeve, but Jackson could barely see or hear anything past the roaring in his ears and the boy on the bed. Who the hell was trying to drag him away from his son? And why the hell wasn't Hugo opening his eyes? Didn't he know every second those dark eyes were closed it was slowly ripping his insides to pieces?

"Avery…Doctor Avery…" there were other people crowding into his space pulling him away but still Jackson couldn't focus on anything but his son lying there clearly unconscious tubes and needles now sticking out of him. God how had he let it get this bad?

"Jackson" came the male voice he vaguely recognised as Mark Sloan dragging him backwards standing in front of him so his frame was covering his son. "You with us kid?"

Jackson nodded brain still in overdrive. They were gonna need him to answer questions before they told him what the hell was going on. And for that he needed to be on his A game.

His son deserved nothing less.

"Ok" Doctor Sloan patted him on the back "No Avery keep your eyes on me…now were gonna need to ask you some questions…your son…" at Jacksons nod he continued "His abdomen is swollen and tight so has he been feeling sick?"

Jackson nodded "I was gonna take him in if it got worse" he confessed miserably "I just thought it was stress, he wasn't sleeping well…I just…didn't have the time and I didn't realise this morning…" he breathed heavily through his nose as Sloan patted him on the back moving him so they were out the door. Dumbly, numbly he followed the plastic surgeon feet tripping over themselves.

"Don't beat yourself up about it kid it happens" Doctor Sloan said seriously "You're a surgical resident"

"Should have known" Jackson said leaning his head back against the wall, Sloan shook his head "Kids have a way of hiding this stuff from their parents Avery" he said sternly "You learn that in Med School. Baby Avery was just better than most"

Jackson nodded even though the words did nothing to cleanse him of the guilt. He should have forced Hugo to come in rather than wait till the weekend.

"What does it look like?" he asked carefully keeping the bile down his throat. Sloan shrugged "My guess…his appendix burst and he's now got an infection that I'm willing to bet is in the spleen…but I'm not a General Surgeon Avery, just wait here until Bailey is done with her exam and then we can get him to an OR"

Jackson nodded not really listening. He trusted Bailey, he liked Bailey. Bailey wouldn't let Hugo die.

He repeated the mantra over and over.

* * *

Bailey came out some time later. Sloan had managed to pull him into the conference room and forced a glass of water in front of him but he couldn't touch it. If anything went down his throat he knew it would be coming back up.

"It's the appendix" she said with preamble "I'm gonna have to go in and remove it, there's a good chance that the spleens infected so I'd imagine that's gonna have to go, hopefully the fluids not hit the kidney's yet…I've booked an OR, I'll take Lexie and Meredith Grey in with me…"

Jackson cut her off suddenly one burning thought suddenly flashing in his mind.

"I need to be in there with him"he said looking up, "I need to be in the OR with you, I need to be the one that operates on him"

Bailey looked at him before her face softened, she moved so she was sat down in front of him "We all know you can't do that Avery" she said gently "I cannot have you in that OR with him and you don't want to see me operating on him"

"I don't want him to be alone…he shouldn't be alone" he muttered feeling something burn behind his eyelids.

Doctor Bailey nodded "I have a son too you know" she said carefully "I know that this must be _excruciating_ for you, but you know that you cannot be in there with him…and he won't be alone, Meredith and Lexie who you both know and like will be in there with him"

He wanted to fight, every inch of him desperate too, but he couldn't, Jackson couldn't find the energy, to do anything other than nod. "I'm gonna take him up now…I'll get someone to come and give you updates. Doctor Sloan is gonna stay with you" she nodded at Sloan shooting him a look that had him nodding back looking rather scared.

And so it began.

* * *

It was Derek Shepherd himself that gave him the first update. "The appendix was inflamed but Doctor Bailey managed to remove it in one piece" he said gently handing Sloan a coffee. "His BP's good, his heart rate is steady and he went out like a lightbulb, Bailey's gonna remove the infected spleen but she thinks that the kidney's remained intact from infection as did the liver"

He took a mouthful of his coffee "If you don't mind me asking Avery…where's his mother?"

"Dead" Jackson said numbly to the both of them, he felt like his head was detached from his body. "When he was born she was bleeding pretty badly and they couldn't stabilise it…"

"How old were you?" Sloan asked his voice unnaturally soft and Jackson looked up to see the both of them watching him.

"Fifteen" he said curling his legs so that he could rest his head on them.

There was a long pause "You finished High School, got to College, became a Doctor and a soon to be surgeon all while raising a baby?" Sloan asked again, when Jackson nodded his eyebrows rose to the top of his head "I hate to say this Avery but damn I am impressed"

Jackson would have smiled if he could have remembered how that muscle worked.

It felt like days later when Meredith Grey appeared. "It's over" she said breathing hard "Spleen and appendix gone, infection stopped, kidney's and liver fine and he's on his way to recovery" she reached out to touch his shoulder "You would have been proud, his BP never dropped and his heart rate was always steady-couldn't have asked for a more perfect surgery"

Jackson nodded still desperate not to open his mouth. Sloan coughed "I think me, Doctor Grey and Doctor Shepherd will go wait outside until Bailey is ready to talk to you" he said gently before patting Jackson on the back "Baby Avery did good" he said again breathing heavily "I need a drink" he muttered to Doctor Shepherd "I'm not used to this amount of caring in one day"

Jackson prided himself on at least waiting until the door was shut before he buried his face into his hands and cried.

* * *

It took him all of twenty minutes to get himself under control before Meredith told him Hugo was in recovery, he was still out of it but he was alive and when Jackson slid into the nearest chair he could find it was Alex Karev, his face uncharacteristically kind that passed him a blanket. Perhaps they knew not to chase him out of the room.

Hugo was still so small wrapped up in the hospital sheets his dark hair even darker against the pillows. It shouldn't be like this. Hugo should be at home in his own bed, safe…

"S'ok baby" Jackson said linking his hand with Hugo's and smoothing the hair out of his eyes, even though he knew the boy couldn't feel it. "Daddy's here…Daddy's never gonna leave you"

It had to be enough, it was all he had.

And so he resolved to stay there until Hugo opened his eyes again.

* * *

 **Hopefully I will be able to update sooner-however I make no promises**

 **Next Chapter-6x10-Holidaze-Hugo's in hospital, Jackson is furious that his son kept this from him, Christmas is coming, Alex may be dare we say it? comforting? and Catherine Avery is not best pleased that her grandson had an operation and nobody told her. **


	6. 6x10-Holidaze

**Hi so here is another chapter, this is filled with lots of fluffy Hurt/Comfort daddy Jackson and dare we say it comforting Alex Karev.**

 **For all of you who wanted a Christmas chapter that will be added in the next chapter. I reckon there'll be another two chapters with Hugo in the hospital and then he gets out in just enough time where we can build on the Japril friendship before the finale.**

 **A big thank you to all of you who have read, reviewed, favourited, followed this story it means a lot and please keep reading, reviewing, favouring and following.**

 **Disclaimer-I own nothing but Hugo.**

 **Please read and review.**

 **Hopefully I will be able to update soon.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 6-6x10-Holidaze

Hugo is still in the hospital, Christmas is coming and Jackson is furious and terrified that he didn't know what was going on and Alex Karev is dare we say it…comforting?

* * *

The first thing he recognised was that his head hurt like hell. And that his stomach was aching like it had been kicked in with several baseball bats and he was most defiantly not in his bed. He choked slightly feeling something obstructing his throat though that could be the dryness if his slowly returning instincts were kicking in.

He staggered upwards but found that he couldn't move his head very much, he reached out hand grabbing for something and then much to Hugo's relief it hit skin. He was still struggling to open his eyes when he felt someone above him and much to his relief a voice he recognised as his father.

"Hey kiddo, just wait a second and then it will be easier to breathe ok…I'm just gonna pull the tube out ok, just breathe baby"

He listened so ingrained to the sound of his father's voice that it instantly soothed him. He relaxed letting the weight in his throat disappear, he still didn't want to open his eyes, didn't want to see the worry and anger that would be there clear as day. His eyelids fluttered open however at their own accord and it took a few seconds before the room stopped swimming long enough for things to clear.

And then his eyes focused on his father.

The look on his face was too awful to put into words.

* * *

Jackson had been dozing off in the cold hard chair for the third time that day when Hugo's machine had started beeping. It had been nearly forty-eight hours since he'd been pulled into an OR and had his spleen and appendix removed in one go and he'd had barely anytime to sleep. There had been the constant checking Hugo's charts and machines and then Jackson's fatherly instincts had taken over the Doctor instincts and he'd spent the rest of the nights watching Hugo breathing trying to calm his racing heart.

A young intern had tried to kick him out at one point but Jackson had shot him a look that made him jump before leaping out of the room. He had then linked his hand between Hugo's limp fingers and had held on for the majority of the night until he had fallen into an uneasy sleep. Due to Hugo being in recovery the interns and residents didn't come in leaving Jackson to repeat the same process again, every hour feeling that stretch of time increasing with every second. And then in the early hours of the morning Hugo had finally started moving.

Those dark eyes were still the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in the world.

"Hey" he said gently when those eyes finally focused on him. He reached out brushing back the dark hair sticking to his little boy's forehead. Hugo seemed to choke slightly on the lack of air and Jackson held a glass of water to his lips gently letting him drink his full before his eyes fluttered closed again. "Your good" he repeated more to himself than to anyone else and Hugo nodded his eyes still remaining closed.

"…Sorry…" Hugo said coughing slightly "Should have told you"

"Yeah" Jackson said brushing his hand down the side of Hugo's face and trying to take his temperature at the same time. "So why didn't you…all you had to do was come to me and tell me you felt sick…how long had you been in pain?"

Hugo looked at him his eyes somewhat older when they looked at him before he shrugged wincing slightly "Didn't wanna worry you" he said finally. "You have this new job and I know you wanna get all the cool surgeries and I didn't want you taking time off work to deal with me…"

Jackson gaped at him for a split second before reaching so he could grab Hugo's chin forcing him to look at him.

"Let's get something straight" he said once he had managed to get his voice under control, dropping it back down to a whisper. "I love you, I love you more than this job, more than my licence and damn well more than my own life"he said nosing his nose against the side of Hugo's face like he had done when he was a baby-back then Hugo had giggled and clapped looking thrilled at the attention-now he was just a sickly kid in bed having had surgery.

"If there is something wrong then you tell me…you come and you find me even if that means you're running into an OR while I'm elbow deep in someone's chest, you come and you find me because you…" he punctured this by gently brushing back the dark hair needing something to ground him finally.

"Are the most important thing in my life Hugo…so the next time you feel unwell I need you to come to me because I sure as hell don't plan to live through you being under the knife anytime soon"

Hugo nodded reaching blindly with his hand to squeeze his Dad's and Jackson managed a small smile. He wasn't going to break in front of Hugo-that could be done later, when Hugo was in his bed at home and Jackson had a bottle of something strong in front of him.

"You mad?" Hugo asked his face contorting slightly and Jackson managed a small smile the bitterness seeping through his system like poison "No" he said finally "Not at you"

Himself however…well that was a different story…

* * *

As it turned out Hugo didn't need to stay in recovery that long. Doctor Bailey confidently pronounced on her morning rounds that she expected Hugo to be home by the end of the week and in his own bed by Christmas. Still under the effects of the drugs Hugo had nodded before spacing out allowing Jackson another hour of privacy to slowly self-loathe.

How the hell had he let it get this bad? Karev had let him stay in the room while he'd been changing Hugo's bandage and Jackson nearly threw up at the size of the scar stretched across his baby's stomach.

"You really love him" Karev said once Hugo was asleep, still small, still white faced but looking a little less like death. Tearing his eyes away from him Jackson looked at him. "He's my son" he said flatly "Of course I love him"

Karev stared at him uncomprehendingly before his face morphed into something bitter "Not every father loves his child the way you love yours" he said finally. "For what it's worth though…"he shrugged "I kinda hate the fact that you did all of this crap, raised a kid and might be the only person outside of Meredith that can hand Cristina Yang her ass in an OR"

Jackson nodded deciding to take that as a compliment "I'm sorry your wife left you after she had cancer" he said finally "And for what it's worth, whatever the hell Charles did, I'm sorry about that to"

Karev blinked "This doesn't make me like you" he said finally "I'm still gonna kick your ass when it comes to the first choice of surgeries"

Jackson grinned muscles aching at the unfamiliar gesture "Bring it on"

* * *

Later that night Hugo did wake and Jackson who was once again slumbering in the chair started awake when the monitors started bleeping.

"What the…Hugo what the hell are you doing?" he asked sitting up when he saw that Hugo was trying to push himself out of bed looking stricken.

And just like that Hugo's face fell, he looked stricken and dare Jackson say it close to tears…

"I didn't get you a Christmas present" he said finally his face crumpling and his voice coming out at almost a wail. "I was supposed to go and get it and now Christmas is ruined" his face contorted and with a sinking feeling Jackson realised that finally everything was catching up with Hugo and the shock of having himself cut open was finally wearing off.

If the situation hadn't been so heartbreaking it would have almost been funny.

"You don't get it do you?" he said finally forcing Hugo to lie still and tucking him back into the sheets. "I don't need anything for Christmas as long as I got you"

"Cheesy" Hugo said finally and Jackson shrugged grinning "True" was all he said and he settled down for the long night with the belief that maybe…just maybe…they would be ok…

I mean really…what else could go wrong?

* * *

 **Next Chapter-6x11-Blink-Hugo is still in the hospital, complications happen, Mark's daughter arrives, Christmas is over and Catherine Avery is not pleased that her grandson had surgery and she wasn't told.**


	7. 6x11-Blink

**Hi so this is a really short filler chapter with a really short introduction next chapter will be longer.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine**

 **Hopefully updates will be quicker**

 **Please read and review.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 7-6x11-Blink

Hugo has complications, Mark Sloan's daughter has arrived, Bailey is not impressed and Catherine Avery is on the warpath.

* * *

The week passed in slow silence, Hugo was steadily recovering and even able to get out of bed for walks (under the strict observation of his father who would watch him like a hawk until he was convinced that he was tired-and really? Half an hour of stretching his legs everyday was going to do what? Cripple him?)

And then one day he wasn't.

Hugo wouldn't have mentioned it if it hadn't been for Doctor Bailey and the rest of the residents including his father coming in to 'evaluate' him and his post-op results.

He was reading a magazine at the time…Doctor Sloan had been most helpful in giving him some very… _educational_...reading materials that he was instructed ' _To not show anyone Baby Avery and that includes, Doctor Shepherd If he stops by because he_ _'_ _ll give me that look_ _…_ _but that_ _'_ _s a story for another time_ _'_

And that was when the problems started.

"Ah Mr Avery" Doctor Bailey said when she came into the room with the residents, Hugo could now name, as Doctor Grey (who was hot) Doctor Karev (who was having wife troubles) Doctor Adamson (who Charles was in love with) and Doctor Yang (who Hugo hated purely because she reminded him of a mean ice cube) Charles and his father.

"Just checking in before your Dad's separation anxiety kicks in and he ditches me" Hugo grinned struggling to sit up magazine in his lap. "Knock yourself out Doctor Bailey…he'll be worse if you don't hurry up, he thinks your hiding a terminal illness from him" his Dad shot him a look and Hugo grinned busying himself in the magazine lifting it up so everyone could get a look at the cover.

There was a pause "Hugo what the hell are you reading?" his Dad asked in that tone that meant Hugo was in trouble…he resisted the urge to roll his eyes even as the magazine was snatched from him from his furious looking father.

"Doctor Sloan dropped by yesterday to give them to me…said they were educational" he said beaming-if he was going down Sloan was going down with him.

Both his father and Doctor Bailey had that same disapproving look on their faces. Doctor Bailey held her hand up "Relax Avery, I will deal with this…Sloan is more scared of me than his is of you"

She refocused her attention on Hugo who snuggled back down under his blankets feeling cold.

"You feeling alright Hugo?" she asked gently and Hugo shrugged. "Just cold" he muttered under his breathe, "Can I have another blanket?"

"Yang" Doctor Bailey snapped and Hugo scowled when he saw the eye roll that came from the Doctor as she moved to get a blanket from the closet.

"Bitch" Hugo muttered under his breath and could have sworn he'd seen his father smirk for the briefest of seconds.

"You just cold?" he asked his attention refocusing, and Hugo nodded coughing slightly. That answer however didn't appear to appease his father whatsoever so he reached out the back of his hand connecting with Hugo's forehead. "Your hot" he said flatly and Hugo blinked up at him even as his hand was replaced with Doctor Bailey's.

"Post-Op fevers" she said finally "Very common, Grey runs some labs just to make sure, you" she pointed at Jackson "Do not immediately assume the worst, you've seen Post-Op fevers before and go find Sloan and tell him I want to see him"

* * *

Once the test actually did confirm that the fever was unimportant and Doctor Bailey had batted his father away to a kidney transplant he was finally allowed to be left alone in peace. Unfortunately without his magazine's-Doctor Bailey had confiscated them-' _These things rot the brains of sensible, well brought up young men, no woman ever looks like that-even Stevens was airbrushed_ ' Hugo had no idea who Stevens was but he didn't think to argue.

Because at that moment the door was all but kicked off his hinges, nearly causing Doctor Bailey to impale Hugo with yet another needle, Hugo barely contained his groan. At the door looking incredibly well put together and a cross between irritated and furious was his grandmother.

"Shit" Hugo said when he found he could speak normally.

Catherine Avery looked at him with all the worry that an outraged grandmother could.

"I'm going to kill your father" she said finally. She turned to face Doctor Bailey. "Catherine Avery MD." Bailey spluttered as Hugo rolled his eyes "Your Miranda Bailey. Where the hell is my son? And can someone please explain to me why I am just finding out about my grandson's surgery now?" she reached out to grab the chart out of Doctor Bailey's hands reading it furiously.

"Spleen was infected?" she asked looking up through her glasses and Hugo watched slightly amused as Doctor Bailey pulled herself together with a finesse that impressed even him "Yes, I removed it and the corroded appendix and thankfully the liver and kidneys were clean"

His grandmother nodded to herself still reading the chart "Post Op fever?" she asked and Doctor Bailey nodded "I put him on some…" and then it was a blur of medical talk between the two women and Hugo was more than content to lie back against the pillows until the two women had finished his grandmother having given Doctor Bailey her medical seal of approval.

"Baby Boy" she said finally sitting down on the bed looking much like the woman that had raised Hugo for those three years of his life rather than the scary kick ass Doctor that she was on a day to day basis.

"I'm going to kill your father" she said again before sniffing "Imagine hearing about it from that idiot sub-par Surgeon that lives with you" she shook her head. "Your father should have rang me and I could have at least made sure the Surgeon and Interns knew what they were doing-hell Hugo there shouldn't have been any Interns in that surgery, people die because Interns screw up in the OR"

Hugo nodded-he knew from experience that it was best to let his grandmother bitch before she calmed down, for now he just wanted to get some sleep.

* * *

Jackson had just scrubbed out of a surgery when Doctor Bailey stormed over to him "Your mother has just arrived, she's in your son's room" she said finally sniffing "She seems happy with my medical care, are you?" Jackson opened his mouth to reply but she pointed a finger at him before he could say anything "Consider your surgical career before you respond"

"You're a great Doctor" Jackson said finally. Doctor Bailey nodded "I know I am" she said approvingly "Go deal with your mother before she opens up your son to make sure I did a good job"

That was a conversation he really wanted to avoid.

His mother didn't even have to see him to know that he was there.

"You should have rang me" she said perched elegantly on the edge of the bed.

"I know" Jackson said easing into the nearest chair and watching Hugo sleeping feeling the life drain after him.

His mother tutted irritably "I take it you haven't ate or slept since he's been admitted" she said looking him up and down, "I've slept" Jackson argued and his mother snorted "For more than twenty minutes so that you can check his breathing?"

Damn she knew him too well.

His mother must have caught his expression because she rolled her eyes at him irritably "Go to sleep" she said finally "I'll stay for a bit and keep the wolves at bay"

He didn't want to, knew there was more important things to do, but sleep came anyway and for a few blissful seconds-he didn't have to think.

* * *

 **Next Chapter-6x12-I Like You So Much Better When Your Naked-Izzie Stevens departs, Catherine Avery departs and Jackson and Hugo finally go home. **


	8. 6x12-I Like You So Much Better

**Hi so another update a quick one just filled with Alex because who doesn't love Alex?**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine**

 **Please read and review**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 8-6x12-I Like You So Much Better When Your Naked.

Izzie leaves, Catherine Avery departs and Jackson finally takes Hugo home, Alex shares a rare moment of weakness in Hugo's room, Hugo is a flirtatious gossip and there are rumours about a new Chief of Surgery.

* * *

It wasn't that Jackson didn't appreciate that his mother was hanging around the house cleaning and cooking and making the occasional comment on his surgical patterns (and where the hell she had gotten a sheet of all his surgeries Jackson really didn't know) and the Doctor's (because his mother had pulled records of all the Doctors to see if they were mediocre or not-and really how she'd got that he really didn't want to know) and was making comments whenever he got home.

"This Doctor Hunt has an impressive resume" she would comment "Of course I would shoot you if you ever enlisted. Mark Sloan I know via reputation" she shot him a look when he nearly spat a mouthful of coffee across the table "Medical Reputation" she snapped and Jackson nodded grinning. "And he's the one that gave Hugo those filthy magazines" she sniffed disapprovingly.

"Shepherd…well everyone knows the Shepherds. Your grandfather couldn't believe it when he heard he was sleeping with an intern. Though, I suppose when he finds out she's Ellis Grey's daughter he won't mind that much…woman was a cold-hearted bitch but God she was good. Your grandfather was a big fan. Harper Avery, Ellis Grey and Richard Webber, the dream surgical team"

God Jackson wished she would just shut up and go home, he was beginning to live with a constant headache and it was irritating him.

* * *

Hugo was steadily going out of his mind with boredom. The entire day before he could go home and finally sleep in his own bed (because you never knew if the person sleeping in those beds before you were dying and that creeped a person out) he had spent counting ceiling tiles on the wall. He would have made a run for it but half the nurses on the floor loved his father for his looks (and found the tragic-raising my son alone story to sad) and the other half were too afraid of Bailey (who had him on bedrest complete with the scary eyes and 'Nazi' eyebrow combination whenever he tried to leave the bed, Hugo approximately gave it ten seconds out the door before someone paged either her or his father and then either way-he wouldn't hear the end of it-hell between the two of them they probably would come up with a scary way of punishing him by another night in the hospital doing nothing completely deprived of friends, internet and decent porn (and Mark Sloan had been scared into not giving him anything else) and Hugo didn't think another night in this place was worth living for.

He was slowly wasting away the hours when Alex Karev came in to check his labs. It was only then that Hugo realised the man looked like the world had come crashing down around him and then some-so the wife must be back.

Over the course of his stay and with a little bit of flirting Hugo had managed to extract some rather interesting stories about his father's work colleague's that he totally didn't plan on manipulating any of them with over the course of his father's education. But really, the McDreamy/Addison/McSteamy/Meredith love square had been _addictive_.

It really was a miracle these people got any work done at all.

"Are you sticking with Lexie then? Or your cancer ridden wife?" he asked brightly as Alex wrote down his results while glaring at him at the same time.

"You ask a lot of irritating questions kid" he said finally "And for the record my wife doesn't have cancer anymore…and I'd be more interested in the new gossip about Webber's possible replacement" he smiled that malicious little smile that Hugo knew had gotten him into more trouble than good. "Rumour has it…it's either drugs or drinking" he pointed at Hugo suddenly "Make a move of this bed to ask the nurses and I'll tell Bailey you called General Surgery stupid"

The _'_ _And you know I will_ _'_ was left out of that rather ominous sentence.

And well really…that was just below the belt.

Karev paused giving Hugo a once-over "Don't give your Dad a hard time" he said finally "Good dads like him are hard to find in this world…man gives a crap about you so much he nearly bleeds you…Webber and Bailey had to basically drag him back into work and away from you this morning when you were asleep."

He paused again before smiling that self-deprecating smile that made him look so much older than what he usually looked like Hugo always thought.

"It's hard finding someone to give a crap about you like that in the big mean world kid" he said finally "Because even when you think you found your person…they can destroy you"

Hugo stared at him "You're talking about me and Dad still?" he asked although he got the feeling that Alex really wasn't.

"Yeah" the man said finally snapping himself together. "Who else?" he paused "Avery's not a crap surgeon" he said finally "And you're not a crap kid either, so take care of yourself"

The knock at the door pulled them both from the trance they were in. it was his Dad standing there watching the two of them a confused sort of smile plastered on his face. "Shepherd" he said finally and Alex nodded "Figured" he said as if the two of them were locked in their own world "Mer will be pissed…Webber's like a second father to her-probably better than the real one"

He paused "Your mother's leaving soon right? She's spent the morning accosting Residents and asking them their life plans…she looked at me funny when I said Paediatric Surgery."

Jackson and Hugo both rolled their eyes in a terrible unison that only someone with intimate detailing of Catherine Avery could pull off.

"Yeah…with any luck she's gonna be gone soon…there's probably some sod in New York that needs a General Surgeon leaping to his or her's defence and nobody seems to be able to do the job better than my mother" he grimace at Alex who nodded wincing "Good…she's creeping Sloan out-which I didn't think was possible. She keeps lurking and sooner or later someone's going to snap…my money's on Hunt…all that repressed war emotions and that relationship with Yang…running into your mother is probably the final straw breaking the overworked, underpaid camel's back"

Jackson stared at him, Hugo stared at him, Karev stared at the both of them and paused shrugging "It's been a long day" he said finally "It's about to get longer…" he shrugged before leaving handing Jackson, Hugo's chart "Discharge him and take him home…I got bigger problems to deal with other than the domestics of the Avery Family"

And with that he left leaving Jackson and Hugo staring after him.

"He's insane" Hugo said finally before turning to his Dad "But nice…when can I leave this damn place?" he asked and Jackson grinned throwing the bag he had held behind his back "Jeans, shirt, jacket and don't look at me like that your damn well wearing the hat and scarf and those ratty converse you like so much…get changed, I'll discharge you and grab a wheelchair"

Hugo laughed before he trailed of realising with a sinking sense of horror that his Dad was completely serious "Like hell" he said the smile dropping of his face. "You cannot seriously expect me to be wheeled out of a hospital? Everyone will look"

His Dad shot him that look "Don't start…if you wanna get out of here I have to wheel you out-Bailey, your Grandmother and at least three nurses will all make you go back to bed…Hugo get into the damn wheelchair so that we can get home"

Hugo pouted once but did as he was told-when his father took on that type of tone he knew from bitter experience that it didn't generally end with him winning.

It was some time later when Hugo was ready-Ok so bending to put on shoes hurt a lot and the jeans he had to leave unbuttoned because they were pressing into his scar and bandage and fine…maybe his Dad had a point about the wheelchair.

But he didn't care.

Because finally he could go home.

* * *

 **Next Chapter 6x13-State Of Love And Trust-Derek is Chief, Hugo is bed ridden and Jackson is surprised to see a familiar face-April Kepner is back everyone **


	9. 6x13-State Of Love And Trust

**Hi so the chapter that you have all been waiting for-the long waited reunion between April and Jackson. This little scene should have happened...just saying...**

 **I know the chapters are short but because Jesse Williams and Sarah Drew weren't made regulars until Season 7 there was very little screen-time at least until the Season 6 finale. I have finally re-watched all ten series of Grey's and just halfway through Season 11 so I have the basics of what is going to happen in each season in terms of Mini plots but I have to figure it out some more. So yeah a few chapters will be short because of the little screen-time given to the actors.**

 **Please read and review and let me know what you think.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing but Hugo is mine.**

 **FYI Hugo is a huge Marvel fan because I am a huge Marvel fan so if your a huge Marvel fan then expect little mentions across this story.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 9-6x13-State Of Love And Trust

Derek is the Chief, Hugo is bed ridden and Jackson is surprised to see a familiar face-April Kepner is back.

* * *

It wasn't that Jackson liked the idea of missing work…he hated the idea of missing the chance to cut someone open…or at least watch as someone cut someone else open.

But then there was that thought of leaving Hugo that made his stomach turn. And it wasn't because he knew Hugo would ignore bed-rest and therefore be walking around the house irritating every part of his body that had been aggravated under the surgery and then bang! Jackson could just see them heading back to the OR with Doctor Bailey removing something else from his son's general organs.

And yeah. He was pretty sure that he didn't want another ten years of his life falling off-he was known as the pretty one. He kinda wanted to stay that way.

Hugo eyed him carefully over the copy of one of his Marvel comics the third day.

"Good God your sad and pathetic…" he said finally "You are so desperate to cut that even I can see it…hell you're so desperate to cut that even I want to rip into someone" he rolled his eyes "Me…Dad…me"

Jackson smiled despite the bitterness swirling around him.

"If I leave now…you're just gonna what? Stay on the couch until I get home? Yeah you're forgetting that I know you, you're gonna get straight up and therefore rip out your stiches and then Doctor Bailey will be with me in their OR trying to keep me from losing my mind…again"

Hugo blinked. He put the comic down "Don't joke" he said finally. Jackson snorted "Wasn't joking kid…till I get the call from Doctor Bailey saying that your stitches are in perfect condition and your scar is on the way to becoming a red line on your stomach I won't go in"

"Fine" Hugo pouted, "But I'm watching Netflix and you can't stop me"

Jackson laughed feeling slightly manic "Oh no son, your gonna do some homework-If I have to lose the thing that I love for a few weeks then you can do lose the one thing that you love and do some work"Hugo shot him a betrayed look but otherwise stayed silent.

* * *

Bailey forced him back into work with a stern phone call. "If that son of yours so much as moves his ass out of bed I will know Avery…and I can assure you he will be more afraid of me than of you" Hugo who was listening in on the phone call nodded once which was basically a teenagers way of agreeing with someone older or scary (or in Doctor Bailey's both) and therefore the horror of dealing with the 'Nazi'added fear into the heart of teenagers (something Jackson was willing to bet not only did Doctor Bailey know but was extremely proud of as well)

"Come into work and make an appearance…appearances count Avery especially with a new Chief"

"How's he doing?" Hugo shouted over the phone and Jackson winced "Cause Charles thinks he's tanking" Jackson rolled his eyes knowing that Doctor Bailey was doing the same thing "Eh…" was all she said "Get your ass into work Avery" before she hung up the phone leaving Jackson staring at the phone and Hugo smirking.

* * *

It wasn't like Derek Shephard wasn't a bad Chief. Quite the opposite, he was still running his Neuro Surgeries and therefore there was the chance to scrub in on some more amazing surgeries, and there was the chance to gain another Chief approval and therefore scrub in on the amazing surgeries that could be on offer (and so? He was keeping his options open). It was that he was so _nice_ …

It was unnerving…

No wonder every female hospital worker called him 'McDreamy'.

Take this for example…

"Hello Avery" he said walking past him as he was trying to get some labs for Doctor Altman. "How's Hugo doing?"And that made Jackson blink because even though he did remember Doctor Shepherd being in that room with him when Hugo had been in the OR he didn't remember much else.

"He's doing fine Sir" he said resisting the urge to whip out his phone and make sure that Hugo was doing fine and was still sat in his bed with his boxset of whatever it was that he was watching.

"Good, good, good" Doctor Shepherd replied patting him on the shoulder "Now I know that you wanna get back to work so you can scrub in with me this afternoon when I'm removing this tumour" he handed Jackson a file "And Jackson" he said turning around "If you ever need to leave to check on your son then please feel free, I know how important he is to you…"

"Thanks"

Doctor Shepherd nodded smiling that same smile that Jackson was pretty sure made every female in the nearby vicinity (if you discounted Cristina Yang, Doctor Bailey and Doctor Robbins) lose several IQ points.

* * *

The day progressed easily. He retracted a tumour, rang Hugo who assured him he wasn't out of bed, made sure that his mother had safely landed in Boston (and hadn't forced someone to be her surgical guinea pig on the plane on the way over) fended off hundreds of well-wishing nurse that his son seemed to have charmed into liking him and received three different casseroles.

But that wasn't even the closest thing strange about the day. He was just stepping out of the Lobby balancing three casseroles heading to the main doors when he realised who was just coming down the stairs.

"April?" he asked raising one eyebrow and she looked up at him through her hair "Jackson" she said smiling before she took one look at him and what he was carrying "Here let me take some of them for you" she lifted two dishes into her arms. "Did Shepherd rehire you?" he asked and April nodded "Yeah, he rang last night and I was totally panicking because I was staying at my parents and you know what travel at this time of the year is like and therefore I was scared stupid and then he hired me back…isn't it great?"

It was hard to not get swept along with April's general enthusiasm, Jackson had forgotten that April was an optimist. In their line of work it was refreshing, and after the nightmare that had been the last couple of weeks it was almost soothing.

"Hey do you know who this Hugo person is?" she asked as she stood by his car "I heard one of the nurses talk about how polite he is for a patient, is he terminal or…?" she trailed off as Jackson once again cursed the heavens for giving him an outgoing and utterly adorable son that seemed to catch the attention of everyone around him.

"You have a place to stay the night?" he asked suddenly looking at the carry-on luggage she seemed to be holding.

"No I meant to get a hotel but…and I haven't really spoken to Reed since the whole Kathy Becker thing and I really don't want that conversation with anyone tonight"

"Get in" he said jerking his head at the car door and speaking over the fast flowing conversation"You can spend the night on our couch, Charles won't give shit and Hugo won't either"

April smiled sliding in the car with grace "So Hugo's what? Another resident?"

"No" Jackson said mentally preparing himself for another long conversation. "He is not another resident"

* * *

 **Next Chapter-6x14-Valentine's Day Massacre-Jackson and April go back to work, and Hugo meets April and their reaction to each other. **


	10. 6x14-Valentine's Day Massacre

**Hi short note-hopefully this chapter is an apology for it being so long...**

 **And OMG-250 Episodes-Penny...Eh...Callie I think is being horrible to Meredith but to each his own...**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine**

 **Please read and review and let me know what you think**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 10-6x14-Valentine's Day Massacre

Jackson and April go back to work, Hugo and April meet for the first time and they react to each other's presence.

* * *

Once Jackson had finally got April to close her mouth and breathe finally after telling the story he managed to get the car into reverse and drive home the brunette in a stunned silence.

"Well" she said finally once they had arrived outside of the house "I guess it kinda makes sense when I look back over those years as interns" at Jackson's look she elaborated "Sometimes you were never there…I wondered if you really wanted this and you checked your phone a lot of the time or your pager as if you were waiting for a different page…and I suppose your locker was adorned with adorable baby pictures but I did wonder if that was like a brother or something…but no…I can totally see this working out…you had a kid"

She suddenly turned and punched him hard on the arm. Before Jackson could even mutter out a sound she was giving him such a disapproving look he felt like he was fifteen and telling his Mom she was about to become a Grandma all over again.

"And you didn't tell me…Jackson…I get that you and Charles go back and Reed…" she pulled her face "Look I get that Reed isn't the most supportive of people but Jackson…I would have kept your secret…I wouldn't have had a problem with your child you should know that by now…hell if you'd have told me I could have helped, taken some extra shifts or babysat or something…"she trailed off looking down at her hands folding in her lap.

"You should have told me" she said finally. "I thought we were friends…maybe not the best of friends but friends nonetheless" she paused looking up at him her blue eyes wide and hurt "We were friends weren't we?"

Jackson swallowed inexplicably feeling guilty for the first time since Hugo had been in that OR and he hadn't been able to follow.

"Of course we were friends, we still are friends April you should know that and ….I wanted to…" he said finally "April you have no idea…I just…you don't know what it's like to have a kid that young and still want the kind of life and career that we want…I didn't want people looking at me different and wondering if I was getting all the early surgeries for a reason and if I was getting the early shifts for a reason and if I was distracted for some reason was it because I was waiting for my son to ring me and let me know he was home safe and that he was fine cooking for himself and putting himself to bed and all the things that I should be there to do for him…I didn't want anyone to treat me different…or worse treat him different..."

April paused still staring at him with those big blue eyes "If you don't mind me asking…why you decided to keep him then…even after the mother…even after she died there was always adoption…I don't…I don't want to judge Jackson but..."

He smiled bitterly twisting his mouth. "Cause I wanted to" he said quietly "Because I was selfish enough to really want that baby…my baby…and I was selfish enough to want to become a surgeon at the same time…because when he was born and was in that incubator I couldn't move and I couldn't take my eyes of him…I wanted him so much it hurt April and I didn't care…if I'd have to have given up surgery for Hugo then I would have done a long time ago and happily"

April stared at him for a long second before shrugging "I don't get it" she said finally "It's not like I'm Anti-Choice or anything it's just that I'm not a parent so I don't know what it's like…but I know you off all people are probably an amazing Dad" she reached over and placed her hand on top of his, "If you need anything…like a shift change or a something then you know I'd be more than happy"

Jackson smiled feeling like he'd offloaded for the long time in a long time. Charles was good but he didn't get the details in a way that April could…she had the ability to comfort and give advice without criticism all at the same time.

It was quite refreshing.

April tugged her hair back behind her ears turning to him "So do I get to meet Hugo or not?" she said grinning and Jackson couldn't stop the laugh that escaped him even if you had paid him.

"Sure" he said holding out his hand and letting April slide out the car, grab her bag and link her fingers with him.

Charles was defiantly out again probably planning Valentine's Day tomorrow.

* * *

Hugo was waiting up again still prone on the couch wrapped in cushions and blankets and looking like an adorable calico quilt burrito. Jackson grinned.

"Hugo" he said watching as the teen jumped slightly leaping off the couch only managing to hide his wince as his stiches tugged tighter…only a few more days and then those things would be taken out and life could resume normality.

"I'd like you to meet a friend of mine, she's going to be staying the night..." Hugo cut across him with a smirk playing around the edge of his face "Oh yeah" he said grinning wide and Jackson shot him a look telling him to _'_ _Not go there_ _'_

"She works with me"he said finally "Her name Is April Kepner"

Hugo stared "The woman that killed that kid's Mom?" he asked in his same tactless tone that Jackson supposed might once have been adorable.

"Hugo" he hissed feeling April stiffen next to him but his…friend…brushed it off leaning forwards with her hand outstretched "Hello Hugo"she said and Hugo took the hand his expression still confused and weary. "My name is April…I heard a lot about you from your Dad…I hope it's ok that I spend the night…I'll be out of your hair as soon as I can"

Hugo blinked. "Sure" he said finally "You think you can let him let me out of this place anytime soon" he caught his father's eye and flashed him a dimple filled grin "House arrest is boring"

April grinned "As soon as the scar is healed and the stiches out you should be alright" she said and Hugo groaned sinking back into the couch with a distinct muttering of "Even school would be more interesting"

Jackson jerked his head upstairs "Come on…I'll show you the spare bedroom"

* * *

The next day was awash with roof collapses and Lexie Grey and April always disappearing around the corner.

Jackson finally caught up with her after their respective shifts. She seemed dry faced even though her eyes were red.

"I'm good" she said finally smiling that first smile Jackson had seen all those years ago when it had been the first day of their Internship.

When they got home April promptly announced that she was cooking. "It's the least I can do" she said smiling…Hugo blinked again before looking to his father. "Yeah" he said finally as he passed by "I like her…she can stay"

* * *

 **Next Chapter-6x15-The Time Warp-Jackson, April and Hugo attend the Time Warp lecture**


	11. 6x15-The Time Warp

**So yeah this is short note for a long chapter. Any questions and i'll answer them in the next chapter due to timing and bad wifi I cannot answer them now.**

 **If I cannot update before the new year a merry xmas and a happy 2016.**

 **Disclaimer-None is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 11-6x15-The Time Warp

Hugo's first venture outdoors since his surgery is to sit in on the Time Warp lecture held by Callie, Bailey and Richard.

* * *

Hugo loathed being indoors. He loathed having nothing to do but with the combined team that was his father and the newly reinstated April Kepner getting around the rules was proving to be exceedingly difficult. Said Doctor was currently moving back into her own place and his father was currently helping her not before ensuring that Hugo was tucked up in bed and board out of his mind.

"Think of it like a punishment" his Dad said beaming with the kind of grin that gave a new term to the word 'evil' (and that was in Hugo's opinion) "The next time that you ever get sick or you feel in pain you come to me immediately…and if you don't…you're going to spend another four weeks in bed before I consider allowing you out the house"

Seriously. The man didn't even seem to realise that school was looking good from where Hugo was sitting.

He supposed it was April Kepner (who had taken pity on him when she saw him trolling through the Netflix channels looking utterly woebegone) that had allowed this opportunity.

His Dad had opened the door looking like it was going to destroy every instinct that was raging through him. "April" he said through gritted teeth "Think's it's a good idea for you to leave the house" he shot Hugo a look that dared him to make something of it and that also seemed to dare him to move one muscle.

"There is a conference on that seems to be mandatory" he sniffed and Hugo knew that he was thinking about a whole day in the OR wasted because of a lecture.

"Chief Shepherd seems to think it's important and Bailey is giving a lecture" he sniffed again and Hugo knew that there was something else coming "Apparently" his father said through heavily gritted teeth, "Chief…I mean Doctor Webber is giving his last lecture and therefore it is expected for us to attend"

And that was the crux of the matter. Even Hugo knew that his father would eventually turn down the prospect of keeping him in bed if the only alternative was missing out on the Chief's lecture. He had been nearly four weeks bed ridden and now he was being let out of the cage, even if it was to what was probably the most boring of boring of lectures.

And so it was with his father watching his every move-and also checking his stiches three times before he let him out of the house and April spending most of her time rolling her eyes before nervously checking her watch before he was finally allowed to leave the house.

He arrived at the hospital only just managed to grab a coffee and was forced to sit down on the chair nearest to the exit with his father, a blonde girl by the name of Lexie, April, the guy he recognised as Alex Karev and the two women in front-one he knew was Cristina Yang and the other he realised with a sense of excitement was the elusive and brilliant Meredith Grey. Said Doctors however had adopted the bored expression that so many of the people surrounding them had and Hugo knew instantly that they too had wanted to spend the day in the OR rather than listening to lectures.

Mark Sloan passed by, he nodded at his father and with a wink at Hugo took his seat next to the man Hugo was willing to bet his recovery one was Derek Shepherd. Next to him was a pretty blonde woman looking terrified that Hugo knew was Arizona Robbins who had looked in on him during his recovery. Next to her was a red headed man who Hugo thought must have been the war torn Owen Hunt. Next to him was a pretty women with long blonde hair that Hugo recognised by her description as the new cardiothoracic surgeon that had started the day he'd collapsed. He couldn't see Reed or Charles but supposed that they were somewhere in the back both avoiding April (or so he heard what with all the muted muttering)

Doctor Bailey was first on the do her case and as she passed where Hugo was sitting she stopped. "Ah young Avery" she said beaming "Good…Good…Good, I did wonder when we would be seeing you again" she eyed him critically "No pain or infection?" she asked her eyes slipping over to his father who straightened under scrutiny "No" he said his tone dark, Doctor Bailey pretended not to have heard him. "Good," she mused herself "Show me the stiches Hugo" she said with an air of superiority. "If you're going to throw yourself about I would at least like confirmation that I did everything perfectly"

Hugo blinked "Err…" he said unsure of what to say even as his Dad's hand slid around his wrist as if to force him back into the seat. Doctor Bailey raised an eyebrow and with it came the horrible sense of impending doom. Hugo raised his shirt feeling rather alarmed as Doctor Bailey bent down to stare at the red line on his abdomen.

"Good" she said again looking pleased "I knew I was" she muttered more to herself that to anybody "But still…"she beamed. "Sit down Avery…" she said giving him another look "Don't aggravate those stiches"

Hugo sat down feeling utterly confused.

"Don't worry about it" Alex Karev muttered to his father "Its Bailey…she's been acting strange ever since Shepherd betrayed Webber." He carefully shot a look to the back of Meredith Grey's head before everyone averted their eyes least Cristina Yang glare at them.

Doctor Bailey's lecture included the throwing of chocolate when someone got the right answer and even though he spent the majority of the lecture reading fanfiction on his phone there was something that made him sit up feeling alive for the first time in four weeks.

Doctor Bailey had mentioned that her patient had been brought into the ER with severe abdominal pains and Hugo couldn't help but wonder. He wanted to ask the question but couldn't quite find the words. Finally with a voice in the back of his head that sounded suspiciously like his grandmother on a bad day he raised his hand.

"Junior Avery" Doctor Bailey said without missing a beat even as everyone turned to look at him…shit…

"Wouldn't you check with her other Doctors to see if her meds had given her an infection or allergies…I mean wouldn't that explain the abdominal pain…if there was a reaction?"

There was a long pause. Hugo shot a look at his father who was watching him with a look that was half surprise and half pride. Christina Yang muttered loudly that anyone could have come up with that suggestion and that she was about to mention it next. Doctor Bailey beamed.

"Good Junior Avery…good…that's exactly what you should check for" she threw him a chocolate "Anyone who didn't get that be ashamed…a thirteen year old beat you and your fancy medical education…sit down Avery"

Feeling rather foolish Hugo sat.

"Brilliant" his Dad muttered grinning at the look on everyone's face. "We'll make a surgeon out of you yet"

That would have meant a lot if it wasn't for the rest of the surgical team glaring at him like he was scum cause he'd had an idea they hadn't had.

* * *

The rest of the lecture carried on as normal followed by Doctor Callie Torres whose lecture made Hugo go back on his phone out of sheer boredom eating the supply of chocolates being helped by his Dad who didn't seem to get interested in the lecture until the very end in which most of the lecture seemed to be dictated by Alex Karev who had worked on the case.

Doctor Richard Webber was the only surgeon Hugo hadn't met or could place a face to. He was old and worn and was giving off the impression of a man that knew he couldn't win this round. However there was something about him that made Hugo put down his phone and listen out of interest. There was something about the way he talked that made everyone sit up straighter…the case was pretty interesting as well enough to make Hugo listen to it. And at the end after the oath was read out and he could see most of the surgeons including his Dad muttering along with it. And even he could remember the memory of watching from his Grandmother's arms as his father took that same oath at his Graduation from Medical School when he was still small.

And he really couldn't blame the hall for giving the man a standing ovation. He would have done so if his father hadn't had given him a look that promised death if he did.

It was later that night when his Dad dragged him back to the car and the day out had managed to drain Hugo of what little energy he had and therefore he was leaning his head against Jackson's shoulder slipped into the car.

"Suppose being a surgeon isn't a bad idea" he muttered sleepily as April covered him with her jacket as the wind increased around the car making them all shiver.

He didn't even have to look at his father to tell he was smirking. "Suppose it's not" was the last mutter he heard before his eyes fell shut on their own accord and he fell into an exhausted, bone deep sleep.

* * *

 **Next Chapter-6x16-Perfect Little Accident-Harper Avery is here. Need I say more. **


	12. 6x16-Perfect Little Accident

**Hi, here is another chapter posted on New Years Day, I hope 2016 will bring us a happier season than the last years Greys...**

 **I don't like the character of Harper Avery as you can see if you read this. Due to Jackson's involvement (or lack of) in the next chapter the conversation between him and Meredith will happen next chapter. I also mentioned Jacksons father briefly in this chapter. I don't know what happened to him but that plot should develop continually (like when it's mentioned on the show) my headcannon is that he left tried to take Jackson was stopped by Harper...but...you might have your own.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please read and review.**

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Little Lion Man

Chapter 12-6x16-Perfect Little Accident

Harper Avery arrives at the hospital-Need I say more? Slight AU because Jackson didn't come in with his grandfather.

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There were many people that Jackson didn't like, surprisingly enough one of them was his grandfather. Too many people that might seem horrible but Jackson had grown up with his grandfather breathing down his neck treating him like a child and talking over him with that tone of deep condensation. It was enough to make Jackson sick. And when he had come home to tell his mother he had gotten a girl pregnant the first person she had gone to was her father in law. As the head of the Avery Foundation he would know what to do right?

His grandfather had passed him a check on day before telling him to 'Take Care of It' and Jackson did precisely that, he took the money and bought a brand new crib. His mother had finally gotten her head around what he had done, when Olivia had been kicked out of her house she had let her stay with them and she had been first in the operating room after Hugo's birth and had personally overseen his care from that moment on. She had loved her grandson.

His grandfather however hadn't. Such was the 'betrayal' he had committed it had added more fuel to the fire and Jackson had been more than happy to burn the bridges. He would never let the man near Hugo. He didn't need any doubt in the teenagers head that he wasn't the most important thing in Jackson's life.

Hugo himself was back at school finally but the day that the past Jackson had tried so hard to keep from catching up with him was typically a teacher work day and he was spending all his time in the on call rooms with him. He had now made friends with just about everyone with the exception of Cristina Yang who had clearly not forgiven Hugo for interrupting her at the lectures. Even Meredith Grey was friendly with him If not with a curious look in her eye every time she looked at him.

Then one day Cristina Yang burst through the door to the On Call room where Hugo was sat eating his way through a chocolate éclair. She seemed in too much shock to speak. "You…You…Him…" she pointed at Jackson and Hugo in stunning shock before sitting down.

"Shit" Alex muttered from where he was sitting next to Lexie. "You broke Yang, hey maybe there is a shot for the rest of us" Cristina pulled herself together long enough to give him a withering look.

"Harper Avery is in the ER"

There was a moment of pure shock…then…

"Motherfu-"Alex said sitting up straighter. Meredith Grey jumped, Lexie's hand went to her mouth and April's hand seemed to go straight to her hair in an attempt to smooth it down.

Hugo turned to Jackson staring wide eyed. "Hey your Grandpa is here?" he said finally and Jackson closed his eyes waiting for the storm to break.

And break it did.

April dropped her fork, Alex said a very rude word, Lexie jumped another foot in the air and Cristina seemed in still too much shock to speak. Only Meredith Grey seemed to know what was going on.

"Avery…Harper…Jackson…Hugo" Lexie muttered her eyes widening "Oh I should have seen this!" she cried smacking her hand down on the sofa "Oh how could I have missed this?"

She shook her head as if appalled by her own stupidity but April was already seconds ahead of her "Brought into the ER with what?" she asked sitting up twirling her hair into a short pony. Cristina blinked "Abdominal pains, blood in his vomit and tenderness…well…everywhere…I didn't get a great look because he shouted for Ellis Grey" she shot an apologetic look at Meredith (or as apologetic as Cristina could get which wasn't very) before continuing "And then he demanded Richard Webber and then by that point Derek, Sloan and Owen were all peering through the window and I saw Bailey, Callie and Arizona making their way up" she turned to Jackson as if expecting him to do something.

"Go and see if he has time to meet us" she said staring at him but Jackson was still frozen to the spot one hand still gripping Hugo's shoulder. "No" he said finally.

Hugo didn't say anything but Jackson could tell he understood more than he let on.

"It's about me isn't it?" he said when Jackson was at the Nurses Station filling out charts "He hates you or he hates me?"

Jackson snorted without really meaning it. "I don't want you near him" he said finally "He's poison Hugo…" he bit his lip "If he had had his way you wouldn't have been born and then my life would be empty"

"Cheesy much" Hugo said looking revolted. Jackson laughed wrapping one arm around him and pulling him close. "Go and grab some coffee and I'll meet you as soon as morning rounds are done" he said smiling. Hugo took the cash winked and disappeared just as Richard Webber came round the corner followed by Derek Shepherd.

"Doctor Avery" Doctor Shepherd said carefully "We need to talk about your grandfather's case"

Jackson sighed "With respect I don't care"

Doctor Webber frowned "He needs surgery" he said finally "And he's requesting you and Meredith Grey in the OR"

He rolled his eyes "I wanted to be in the surgery with my son and you said no" he said finally "I doubt that you really want me in their" he chewed his bottom lip "There is too much shit under the bridge" he said finally. Derek Shepherd blinked "He's asking to see you" he said quietly "Seems pretty insistent, he won't get the surgery unless he does" the dark eyes met his then "And trust me Avery he needs the surgery"

He felt like screaming. Thirteen years down the line and he still Harper Avery had that same sense of power. That ability to break people so everything could work his own way. "Fine" he said slamming his charts into Sloan (who had been watching this curiously) "Five minutes" he said not even bothering to hide the bitterness in his voice.

His Grandpa was sat in bed watching the door. He looked older and thinner than the last time Jackson had seen him. "What" he said finally "Say what you need to say and then let me go because I have several other things to do, like spend time with my kid" his grandpa grinned savagely.

"So you kept him then?" Jackson rolled his eyes "You know perfectly well that I did" he said gritting his teeth. His grandfather snorted "Well…"he looked Jackson up and down "I'm glad that not all of your Medical Education has gone down the drain, this place isn't Mas Gen but Webber's here…and Ellis worked here which is saying something."

He looked Jackson up and down again. "So I suppose Howard doesn't care that you put your life on the line for him, doesn't care that you disgraced the Avery family name, doesn't care that I cannot mention my grandson because I cannot mention him without mention him without his son. Does Harry know that no matter what you do in your choice of medical surgical profession that his very existence is going to be hanging over you, no matter what medical miracles you preform he's going to be the first thing that a reporter sees? No because he's a child and neither him nor you will ever understand that the smartest thing possible would have been to listen to me all those years ago and gone to the clinic. Now are you going to be in my surgery or not?"

Jackson gazed at him his mouth hanging open for the briefest of seconds. "His name is Hugo" he said finally swallowing against the bile that was rising in his throat "And no I won't be in your surgery, just get yourself fit, get the fuck out of my hospital and the fuck out of both me and my child's life" he breathed heavily through his nose. He shook his head once "You don't get it, I mean you really don't get it, he's my child, even when he was a foetus, he was my child and your great grandson" he almost spat the words "Showed up a load of Surgeons by answering a question that none of them could answer" he scoffed irritably "You don't get it…you…you broke Dad…"his father was a sore subject for all the Avery family and Jackson wasn't going to be like his father or Harper Avery.

He turned to stalk away on his heel when he came face to face with Hugo. His son was leaning against the wall looking at him and Harper with a rather stunned expression. He bit his lip looking so impossibly young that it made Jackson's heart ache. Hugo stared at him for a long moment and even Harper Avery had gone quiet before he turned around and walked away.

Jackson followed keeping his distance. Shepherd meant to say something but Sloan who was standing next to him shook his head as if knowing not to interrupt. Hugo stopped outside the hospital and Jackson stopped behind him.

"You were gonna abort me?" he asked carefully turning around and silencing Jackson's question about how much he had heard. "No" Jackson said firmly shaking his head "You see he wanted me to, he wanted to me abort you but I never even considered it. And…" he shifted his face "I…I never regretted that, I didn't have to be a surgeon before or after I had you, I don't care about medical masterpieces all I care about is that I had you and I loved you and that you walk through the door at the end of the day"

He reached out to tug close on Hugo's shoulders pulling him close "Remember what I used to say when you were little?" he asked grinning relieved at Hugo's nod. "You and me till the end and nobody else matters" he muttered letting Jackson wrap one arm around him and pull him close.

Hugo sniffed running his nose underneath his sleeve looking slightly more relieved. Jackson bit his lip as they walked back into the hospital. Harper Avery's shadow was gonna hang over them for a couple more days but Jackson was gonna make damn sure that nothing was ever gonna happen between that man and his son. Ever.

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 **Next Chapter-6x17-Push-Harper Avery continues his recovery with Richard, Owen, Cristina and Meredith all involved. And Hugo goes to his great grandfather to confront him after a long talk with Sloan (who cares more than he thinks or shows)**

 **Let me know what you think **


	13. 6x17-Push

**Hi so here's another update this is the last one before i go back to school so therefore it might be a while before i update again.**

 **There is a little April in this chapter. For those of you who asked about the lack of Hugo/April bonding that doesn't happen until the end of the season when we all know what's coming happens. Then and a lot of Season 7 will be focusing on April developing a very strong bond with Hugo and i will tell you this...He doesn't have that kind of bond with either Lexie or Stephanie. No Hugo is a Japril shipper.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine. Warning-Next Chapters (until finale) will probably be short due to the complete lack of either Jackson or April in them. I have warned you all...this story will remain as cannon as possible.**

 **Please read and review**

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Little Lion Man

Chapter 13-6x17-Push

Harper Avery recovers under Richard's care, Owen, Cristina and Meredith all get involved. Jackson have an heartfelt realisation about his childhood and Hugo finally comes face to face with his great grandfather and has a long talk with Sloan (who sees and cares more than would usually care to admit)

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Hugo hadn't really meant to do it. Skipping school wasn't something that he really did. Hell he actually enjoyed it (apart from Geography a subject that he really didn't understand) he was rather good at most subjects but there was something that he really had to do. He hadn't meant to listen in on the conversation between his Dad and Great Grandpa but the entire conversation was loud enough that nearly all of the surgical residents heard it. He managed to catch a bus to the hospital and slipped in through the ER station. He heard someone coming and terrified that it would be his Dad (who most certainly would not approve of this plan) or that it was someone who wouldn't let him go near the room (Webber). He bit his lip wincing at the cut already forming from where he had run it to pieces during the night.

It was Cristina Yang. She was brilliant from what he had heard but wasn't very nice. She was supposedly pretty if you were into that kind of brutal ambition and no compromise but honestly Hugo wasn't sure that he did. She was taking with Meredith Grey who had that look on her face that reminded Hugo of someone who was distinctly uncomfortable with what was happening and the conversation that it entailed. Hugo knew the feeling intimately.

"Honestly I don't get why he kept that kid Mer? I mean why would you wanna piss of someone like Harper Avery" he could just imagine her shaking her head "If you wanna start a family then don't do it with this job…or at least wait until your qualified. If Harper Avery had told me to get rid of my baby then I would. Hell I would lap dance for the sick old bastard if he let me in on one of his surgeries"

There was a pause before Meredith Grey spoke. "I suppose it's none of our business what Jackson wants to do. He chose to have a child…and he loves Hugo dearly which I think is more than my mother did with me…you just don't like Jackson because not only is he related to someone famous, he's scrubbed in on more Cardio procedures than you have"

Cristina Yang muttered a very rude word and then the voices were gone down a different hallway and Hugo knew it was safe for him to start walking again.

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The room was still the same as it ever was. It looked exhausting. Hugo had never seen a room look so dark and twisted. He blinked again before opening the door and shutting it behind him. Thankfully Webber had left. His great grandfather put down the newspaper and stared at him finally. There was a moment where they just stared at each other.

He stared for a brief second before Hugo opened his mouth and his thoughts spilled out. "I didn't ruin his life" he took a deep breath clenching his hands together into fists taking another step forwards. "I didn't ruin his life…I was a baby…what the hell was I supposed to do? Miscarry myself? I didn't make him keep me, and as far as his successful surgical career is going he's doing better than most of the cold bastards in this place!" he took another deep breath trying to keep his voice down so not to alert suspicion. "He loves me, I love him and nothing you can do to stand in the way of that and when he's the best surgeon solving case that outrank yours you pathetic man then you will know what it's like to be alone in a hospital bed"

He finished breathing heavily before straightening himself up "There is nothing you could do about me and him. He's my Dad and I trump you no matter what" and with that he turned around and swept out the room head held high and slamming the door shut on his way out. Richard Webber was coming down the hallway. He looked up as Hugo stormed down the hallway "The bastards all yours" he said by way of a morning greeting. "I need to go get some coffee" he muttered under his breathe storming past Sloan in his haste to get outside and breath in the cold air.

(And maybe hide the fact that his hands were shaking as well)

He was still taking big gulps of air when Sloan passed him a cup of coffee. Hugo took it and winced. Sloan must take his coffee black because Hugo didn't. Sloan himself was staring out in the distance as if waiting for the sirens outside the ER entrance. "You hang in there kid" he said finally blowing steam into the air. Even at this time of year the weather was cold and frigid. "He loves you, and he needs you" he turned and eyed Hugo critically "For what I's worth, I always thought Harper Avery was out of touch…he never gave me an award for my medical achievements" he sniffed "But don't tell him that Baby Avery…my name might be on a shortlist somewhere" he grinned that grin again and Hugo found himself grinning back despite himself. Yeah. He had his Dad. He could totally take any crap that anyone wanted to throw at him as long as he had his Dad.

The nice moment that might have gone on for longer only it was interrupted by the wail of sirens incoming another trauma and Hugo thought it was best to disappear before his Dad did arrive, ruin a rather good moment and prolong someone from seeking medical assistance.

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By the time Jackson got off that night he was exhausted. Cristina and Meredith had been at each other's throats all day which meant that surgery was suicide at the moment unless you wanted something thrown at you and the heat was on to impress as long as his grandfather remained in the nearby area. Meredith Grey caught his eye as Cristina Yang let out another impressive lecture about why her method was the best and winked. "Don't let it bother you" she said smiling (a thing that made her slightly more approachable and less Ice Queen) "Until were attending's and you can prove yourself everyone is always going to compare you to your surgical legacy relatives" she rolled her eyes "Derek doesn't think less of me because of my mother" she eyed him critically "And I bet Hugo doesn't think of less of you either"

And then she was gone in a flash of blonde hair to find her McDreamy. He remembered vaguely what Ellis Grey had looked like once when she was in his grandfather's study when he was very little and for some reason he couldn't see the resemblance. Maybe because at the end of the day Meredith had a shine to her that her mother had never had. Maybe because she had found and kept someone the way Jackson knew Ellis Grey had never had.

But yeah they were nothing alike.

Suddenly all he wanted to do was go home and be with Hugo. The thought of being here when his grandfather was discharged made him feel like shit. He saw a flash of brown hair indicating that April had probably arrived. Still he couldn't take his eyes off the corridor that some poor intern would probably be wheeling his grandfather down any second.

"Go" said a voice to his left and he looked up to see April watching him "I'll say it was a family thing and I'll do your charts for you…I'll text you as soon as he's gone ok? Go be with your son" she closed her chart lid looking resolute. For a second he couldn't find the words to say anything to her before he nodded.

"Your amazing you know that?" he said standing up and dropping his chart on the desk "One of a kind" April blushed but smiled "Thanks" she said grinning. "See you tomorrow"

With every mile of distance he put between himself and his grandfather he couldn't help but feel lighter. When he got to the apartment Hugo was already there doing his homework. He looked up surprise on his face when Jackson came in and he stopped at the doorway. Just when was the last time he had been home before Hugo was already in bed? Hugo stared at him for a brief second before his eyes dropped down to where his books were.

"Good day" he said casually as Jackson moved more into the kitchen. "He gone yet?" there was no doubt as to who 'He' was. Jackson shook his head reaching in the fridge for what looked like pasta that could easily be reheated. "Going tonight" he said finally sticking the tub in the microwave. Hugo paused looking for a moment as if he was seriously considering saying something before he shrugged looked down and muttered a small 'Oh' Jackson gazed at him for a brief second before Hugo spoke again "I went to see him…I took my lunch hour and went to see him before…" he shrugged again his eyes resolutely on his homework and not on his father "I just wanted to look him in the eye and tell him that we didn't need him"

Jackson swallowed. He could yell at Hugo for missing school some other day but right at that moment he reached behind ruffled Hugo's jet black hair. "Good for you" he said finally turning around rather suddenly so that nothing would betray his face.

At that moment his phone pinged. He looked to see the text from April. _"_ _He_ _'_ _s gone_ _"_ and suddenly just like that it was like he could breathe again. He turned back to Hugo smiling suddenly and probably like a maniac but Hugo seemed to get what it was about and smiled back.

The pinging of the microwave cut them both of at that point and Jackson turned to get to bowls out and Hugo cleared the table, and for the first time in a long time they sat down together as father and son and managed to have a normal night.

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 **Phew Harper Avery has gone.**

 **Next Chapter-6x18-Suicide Is Painless-As April squares of with Meredith Jackson finds himself in the middle of the two of them...much to Hugo's amusement. **


	14. 6x18-Suicide Is Painless

**Hi so here is another chapter. This chapter is short due to the lack of context in this chapter for Jackson. I really liked this episode I found it really controversial and yet touching all in one hour.**

 **This chapter does deal with the topic of Physician-Assisted-Suicide, if you find that controversial or triggering then please skip this chapter, In this chapter I am trying to tackle my believe of what the doctor's in Seattle Grace would do when confronted with that issue. This chapter is not to judge nor to debate any ideas, I have my own and as readers I'm sure you do as well and respectfully I believe some things should be kept private. So no this chapter is not in any way to judge anyone.**

 **Now we have that out the way I invite you to read this chapter as we finally begin to build towards the entire season finale...Please read and review and let me know what you think...**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

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Little Lion Man

Chapter 14-6x18-Sucidie Is Painless

As April squares off too Meredith and Jackson finds himself caught in the middle of them Hugo finds the whole thing incredibly amusing. Jackson also considers the concept of Physician Assisted Suicide and Hugo asks him a question about the controversial topic and his own decision. And also a little Meredith/Jackson bonding

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"So let me get this straight" Hugo said watching him carefully his own dark eyes shining with supressed mirth. "Meredith and April?"

Jackson nodded feeling rather irritated that his son was finding so much amusement in his misery. "Thanks" he said not even smiling a bit (and no he wasn't) "I shall remember your amusement at this moment at Christmas" as threats went it was a rather empty one if the look of unrepeated amusement on Hugo's face was anything to go by.

"So what happened?" he asked setting down the two mugs. It had been one of those days when by some miracle Jackson had been let of by four. It had been a rather slow day the whole hospital consumed by the conversation that Doctor Altman was assisted a patient in committing suicide. Something that Jackson had no interest in listening to. There were several practices of medicine that he hadn't made his mind up yet and ethically he wasn't sure if he was ready to. While he had seen enough pain and misery as an intern to last for a lifetime and he had operated under DNR's before there was still something about willing letting someone die under his care that still shit him up.

The row between Hunt and Altman had shit them all up really. April had categorically refused to ever do that claiming that they saw enough death as it was. Alex Karev had been oddly silent and Jackson knew that he was thinking about his own wife and how she had been dying of cancer. Lexie Grey propped up the silence by stating that the facts had to be taken into account while Meredith Grey (her stony silence around April like sharp pointy icicles) stated that this was the first case they had come across and that they still had time to make their own decisions about how far they were willing to go for their patients.

It was when she got like this that Jackson was reminded that this was Ellis Grey's daughter sat here.

They were both scrubbing away to go into a surgery. Meredith gritting her teeth every five seconds or so with anger. Jackson was suddenly very happy that he wasn't the one she was going home to, he was suddenly worried about what would happen to the amazing neuro god Derek Shepherd when Meredith Grey got a hold of him tonight.

"How…how can you cope with all of this?" she asked gesticulating so wildly that she nearly hit him in the face. "How…I love him" she said finally her voice so true that Jackson believed her. Meredith Grey loved Derek Shepherd with everything she had and vice versa. Jackson thought briefly of how April seemed to light up when the surgeon walked into the room and couldn't help but smile feeling rather pleased for some unknown reason that he didn't want to identify. There was no way in hell that Derek would ever leave Meredith for another woman.

"But he is beyond infuriating" she said reaching for the paper to dry her hands. "I am just as capable of debunking a tumour as he is, I am a good surgeon"she breathed through her nose before shaking her head. "And I'm always going to be that intern" she shook her head before breaking off as if she'd forgotten for one second that she was not in a room with Cristina Yang.

"You know" he said finally dropping the soap back into the sink "Sometimes I think that the only thing I'll ever be remembered for in my family is my son" he shrugged at the look on her face. "I love my son" he said his voice firm "And most of my family do as well but my grandfather is law in our house and as far as he is concerned I am always going to be the grandson that didn't choose abortion for the sake of his career" he shook his head, Meredith stared.

"But you don't regret it" she said finally and Jackson shook his head "No" he said firmly "I don't regret having Hugo" he shrugged looking back at his hands "I don't ever regret having Hugo" he allowed a small shard of the love that he had for his son that he usually didn't let loose, loose enough that she could see it on his face.

"Good" she said finally her own expression unreadable "That's a good thing believe me" she turned away at that point so that she still remained the inscrutable Meredith Grey and Jackson took that to be the end of the conversation. And with that they both dried their arms and hands and went back inside the OR.

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"So" Hugo said later that night when they were sat drinking hot chocolate (or in Jackson's case coffee) "Doctor Altman really did help a woman commit suicide?" Jackson nodded looking down at his mug "Would you ever…?" Hugo asked head tilted to the side looking serious before his voice trailed off and Jackson shrugged, "I dunno" he said finally "There are some grey area's you shouldn't cross until you have to and each Doctor could ethically have objections to what the patient is asking you"

Hugo nodded snagging another marshmallow, "What would you do if it was me that was asking?" he asked cocking his head to the side again, Jackson didn't have to pause before answering "I would keep you alive as long as I thought I could"

Hugo blinked but Jackson shrugged "Your my child" he said finally "I would fight till the end for you" Hugo stared at him for a second before nodding "Ok" he said finally "But for what it's worth I would fight till the end for you as well…even if it was against some mad gunman. I would totally throw myself into the room for you and tell the gunman to shoot me if I thought it would make a difference" he bit his lip before ducking his head and grinning again "Not like that would ever happen" he said shaking his head.

"Yeah" Jackson said trying to laugh. To be honest with himself the image of Hugo, his boy, his son, his baby standing in front of a gunman for him would probably be an image that would haunt him for a long time. He shook his head trying to dispel the image before it permanently burned itself into his eyesight.

"Dinner?" Hugo asked turning around and standing up to reach for their fridge. "I take it Uncle Charles is still trying to pick up Reed" he shook his head smirking "Honestly" he turned around to face him "Do you wanna cook and cut at the same time or do you wanna order take out?"

Shaking his head Jackson pulled himself out of his stupor standing up he shook his head "No I'll cook us something, you shouldn't be eating take out on that stomach just yet" ignoring Hugo's eye roll.

The rest of the evening carried on and nothing seemed out of the ordinary but when Jackson went to sleep that night (for once at a reasonable hour) he thought there in the dark that that jump start of terror his heart had given at that image of Hugo and the imaginary gunman wouldn't go away soon.

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 **Next Chapter-6x19-Sympathy For The Parents-As Alex struggles, Jackson realises that April is overreaching with Derek Shepherd and Hugo realises that he's lucky, all the while a patient and her husband are in the hospital and an overheard conversation does nothing to prepare anyone for what's going to happen. **


	15. 6x19-Sympathy For The Parents

**Hi so here is another chapter. Again I had to make a great deal of this up from scratch because of the lack of both Jackson and April's involvement but from now on everything is building up to the Season finale.**

 **I appreciate a lot of this story so far has been a bit cramped and rushed but that is literally because with every story it takes a while to find my feet, factor in the lack of material in Season 6 for Jackson and April and it makes certain episodes difficult to write. However let me assure you Season 7 will have a lot of April, Jackson, Hugo moments.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please read and review.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 15-6x19-Sympathy For The Parents.

Alex is in trouble, April and Hugo have a moment, Jackson realises a few things about April, Hugo realises how lucky he is and gets caught up in a fight all at the same time, and an overheard conversation between a family member and Doctor has far greater consequences than anyone could ever realise.

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It was the weekend and Hugo was currently spending the Friday night in the hospital waiting for his father to get out what must be one of the longest surgeries ever. Seriously how long did it take to transplant a liver with Doctor Bailey universally known as the female chief of General Surgery at the helm? You'd think that wouldn't be a big deal but then (according to the nurse) his Dad had then been paged to assist in Doctor Shepherd's surgery and now here he was. Hugo had come only to see his Dad for the first time in what felt like forever only to find him once again glued to the OR table.

Hell it wasn't like Hugo didn't know what his father did for a living. He hadn't watched his father work his ass off worrying about money and spending time with him while pursuing his dream. And Hugo wasn't a selfish person by nature, he knew that the people that needed his Dad were people that were quite literally sometimes on the cusp of life and death. And over the years he had managed to walk the fine line between doing things by himself and doing things with his father. It had been tricky but now even at thirteen the years where it seemed the rest of his classmates didn't want anything to do with their parents, Hugo couldn't get enough time with his. So much so he was now sat here on a cold hard chair waiting for his Dad on a Friday night so they could have a sit down dinner together for the first time all week.

He bit his lip stretching painfully watching out of the corner of his eye. There was a man in the room opposite the hallway with what Hugo knew was his wife and April Kepner running scans. She came out the room managing a small smile when she saw him. He stood hoping she would know how long his Dad would be when she dropped her charts of at the nurses station turned around and hugged him.

Hugo tried to hide his surprise but knew he wasn't doing a good job. With the exception of his father and on occasion his grandmother he had never really been hugged by anyone. In fact he was sure that before this moment his grandmother was the only woman who had ever hugged him probably. He was popular at school but not that popular. He hugged back instinct taking over before April pulled back leaving him feeling rather unsettled and unsure why.

"I'm sure Jackson won't be long" she said but her bright smile dimmed slightly as Hugo followed her gaze back into the room where Lexie Grey had just walked in. "Oh" she said softly pulling him away from the room "I don't think you need to see that" she shook her head "It's Mr Clark's wife" she shook her head. "So tragic, you have no idea" she shook her head again "They've been together for so long and it ends like that…brain dead" she bit her lip as they walked down the hall. "It's one of the more difficult aspects of this job…Thank God Lexie pulled the short straw" she sighed as they reached the OR board. Hugo scuffed the toe of his converse shoe against the polished floor wondering what the hell he was supposed to say to that before April gave a long sigh as her pager lit up like a Christmas tree.

"I gotta go and assist in the ER" she shook her head "I hope it's something that involves blood. I need that after the morning I've had" Hugo took a moment to allow that sentence to sweep down upon him before he carried on looking around rather irritated that he now had to go find a new seat and wait. He found a spot at the nurse's desk and flipped open his Maths book thinking he might as well start on the horrific Calculus homework he had to do before Monday.

"Ugh" said a voice over his shoulder and Hugo turned to see a tall guy he reckoned was maybe just legal watching him over his shoulder. He had that look of someone who had grown up very quickly but still knew how to have a laugh. He was wearing a hospital gown and smiled at Hugo when he turned around. "Always hated Maths, never could see the point of mixing numbers and letters" he shuddered "However you just gotta carry the one on that one and then you should be able to do the multiplication from there" perhaps realising that Hugo was still sat down staring at him with surprise probably painted all over his face he smiled again. "Aaron" he said holding out his hand "Aaron Karev"

Hugo raised his eyebrow "Hugo Avery" he said shaking it "Wait your Alex's brother?" the man nodded his mouth twisting and Hugo let his hand drop to the side swallowing down the questions he was desperate to ask. He was still busy working when the rest of the Doctors came piling out. Meredith Grey herself came and sat next to him watching him do his homework and occasionally pointing out where he was going wrong. "Don't worry about it" she said tilting her head to the side to read the next question "Most people struggle with Calculus, to be honest I don't get why we needed to learn it even for this job" she shook her head her brown curls flying across the pages.

There was suddenly an almighty crash and the chair next to Hugo went flying across the room. He swore hopping away from the chaos before it got to dangerous and in doing so the bottom of his converse and the edge of the nurse's station collided and he fell over. "Son of a bitch" he hissed standing back up and wiping his nose. It wasn't broken but the fall had given him one hell of a nosebleed, as the warring Karev brothers continued their fight down the hallway he stumbled backwards leaving his bag and the book in the corner. As Doctor Bailey stormed forwards armed with a clipboard and looking incensed he managed to stagger backwards not looking back until he collided with someone's chest. He would have fallen again had two strong hands not reached out and grabbed him turning him around.

"Woah kid" said a painfully familiar voice and Hugo squeezed his eyes shut already prepared for the horrific aftermath of his father seeing him with a bloody nose.

* * *

Jackson Avery wasn't stupid. Despite his grandfather's opinion he was actually pretty smart. Which is why he knew about April's little crush on Derek Shepherd. And hey! Jackson wasn't stupid. The man was neurosurgeon gold. He was a God. Jackson could totally understand why April liked the guy so much. Hell with the exception of the Chief he actually managed to make his surgeries fun and entertaining. However the guy was very happily married (and if the rumours were true very much in love) and had also waded himself through enough shit to last him a lifetime with Meredith Grey.

"Won't happen" he said to April while they were de-scrubbing and Derek Shepherd had already left (patting them both on the shoulders as he had left as a well done). She looked at him with surprise "I…I…" she spluttered incoherently and Jackson nodded unable to stop grinning. "It won't happen" he said finally trying to remain serous though the thought of Derek Shepherd and April was rather laughable. "If everything you hear around this place is true then he went to hell and back to be with Meredith" he shook his head. "I don't think he's going to through all of that out the window do you?" he shook his head again as he and April left the OR, she pulled off her cap letting her brown hair fall loose. She frowned at a lock picking it up in her hand "I should change my hair" she said shaking her head before frowning back up at him. "What I do in my own time is my own business" she paused stopping still and Jackson stopped with her. He nearly ran into her "What?" he asked looking at her.

And then he heard it. There were several shouts and loud noises and as they rounded the corner they could see why. Alex and another patient were embroiled in what looked like a rather good fist fight while Doctor Bailey looked on the verge of exploding, she wacked Alex over the head with a clipboard causing April to smother her giggle with her hand. Jackson was just about to laugh himself (and then maybe help break it up) before something small hit him in the stomach. It was a kid about thirteen with dark hair who had obviously been in the middle of the fray before he had had the sense to get the hell out.

"Woah kid" he said steadying him before he turned him around…and his stomach bottomed out.

It was Hugo, Jackson had completely forgotten that he was supposed to be meeting his son for dinner. For a second self-loathing flew through him before he realised that Hugo was bleeding.

"What the…Hugo…what?" he asked as it trailed off as April gripped Hugo's shoulder pulling them both out of the way. Hugo jumped but moved to the side easily enough. "I'm fine" he said breathing heavily but Jackson couldn't tear his eyes away from the blood dripping from his son's nose. Then April's voice came through the haze, "Tilt your head back" she said wrapping one hand around Jackson's upper arm and forcing his attention back onto his son.

Hugo did as she said while April wiped his nose clean "What happened?" Jackson demanded feeling like his skin was on fire. Because his kid was bleeding and that wasn't ok. Hugo shrugged "Fell over" he muttered grinning slightly, for some reason that seemed to make him smile. "Clumsy" he said grinning though his blood. Yeah Jackson so wasn't ok with that.

"You…how did you fall over?" Jackson asked. Hugo stared at him and the now rapidly breaking up fight "How'd ya think?" he said sarcasm thick in his voice. Jackson shook his head bending down to Hugo's level to check that his son's bleeding was rapidly stopping. He stared again before he managed to form words. Jackson didn't want to say what he was thinking but he didn't think he could form the words. "Come on" he muttered dragging Hugo up by the arm and tucking him into his shoulder so that he was protecting him, though from who knew what at this point. "I'm done for the day, let's go home"

* * *

Hugo had been watching the Karev brothers before he finally nodded and allowed Jackson to drag him off the floor through the corridor and into the locker rooms. Once his Dad was changed he was propelled throughout the rest of the hospital wiping the rest of the dry blood off his face with his sleeve. "Hey Dad" he muttered under his breath as they finally made it to the car. His Dad looked at him still wide eyed and unnaturally pale. "Yeah?" he asked tilting his head to the side. And what Hugo wanted to say died in his throat. The best he could manage was "Love you"

His Dad stared at him for a long second before he grinned once teeth flashing in the night. "Love you too" he said finally. And just like that Hugo knew it was enough.

* * *

 **Next Chapter-6x20-Hook, Line And Sinner-As his grandchild arrives Mark goes to Jackson to ask him about his experience raising a child and Jackson considers what life would be like if he had given Hugo up for adoption.**


	16. 6x20-Hook, Line And Sinner

**Hi 's another chapter-two in one day. This chapter is pure AU, this conversation wouldn't have happened without Hugo and I personally love the Mark/Jackson bromance. So this is one chapter filled with just that...bromance...**

 **And so we push forwards to the season finale.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please read and review.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 16-6x20-Hook, Line And Sinner

As Mark Sloan's grandchild is born the Doctor asks Jackson what it was like raising his son in their line of work and Jackson considers what his life would have been like if he had given Hugo up for adoption.

* * *

When Jackson got into the work the following week he was aware of one thing. The rumour mill was going again. Like crazy. And once again it was centred on Mark Sloan. "His grandchild was born like last night" Reed whispered in the Locker Room. "I heard that he was born in the middle of a dinner party and Doctor Altman had to deliver it" she shook her head before shooting a look at Jackson.

"Hey so was that like how your kid was born?" she asked tilting her head to the side and grinning slightly as if she already knew the answer. "Reed" April hissed looking mortified before she tied her hair up shaking her head but Reed still turned her head to the side with an expression of gossipy interest on her face and Jackson couldn't help but snap out his answer. "No" he said finally slamming his locker shut and reaching for his coat "My son was nearly three months early and they had to rip him from my dead girlfriend" he shook his head feeling a headache throbbing and not bothering to listen to the outbreak of whispers that carried on from the room he had just left.

"Hey" Karev muttered as they reached the nurses station "About your kid" he paused hissing slightly "I didn't mean for him to be caught in whatever the hell that was the other day…me and my brother we…"he trailed of looking embarrassed and Jackson suddenly felt all the righteous anger draining out of him. Alex really was tragic.

"Hugo doesn't seem to have a problem with it" he said finally and in truth that was the truth, Hugo had brushed off the nosebleed in stride with a wave of his hand that had done nothing for Jackson's heart. It was lucky he kept his hair so short otherwise it would be streaked with grey from all the stress Hugo had somehow managed to unintentionally put him under. "I do" he said finally reaching for the nearest chart "But Hugo doesn't so…" he trailed off and Alex nodded disappearing before the conversation got anymore awkward that it could possibly get right at that moment.

He looked down at the charts he'd been given before he swore under his breath. He had Sloan. Mark Sloan was known to be difficult on the Residents and Jackson was so not up for a brutal day being somebody's dogsbody. He closed his eyes mentally preparing himself for a long hard day filled with insults and back breaking work.

* * *

"Doctor Sloan" he said not at all surprised to see the older Doctor in the Nursery staring intently at one of the baby boys with his dark eyes. "Ah Avery" he said jumping up and looking around as if worried someone (and Jackson knew he was looking for Lexie Grey) was watching. "How are my patients today?" Jackson passed him the charts before turning to look at the baby. "He's cute" he offered and he wasn't lying the baby was cute. Not as cute as Hugo had been but with a pang of envy Jackson realised he was bigger. Sloan wouldn't be cuddled near an incubator hoping and praying that his baby got stronger every day like Jackson had done.

Lucky Bastard.

He shook his head as Sloan nodded looking across his charts. "Avery" he said catching his eye before looking down "May I ask you a personal question?" and before Jackson had time to answer he was already turning to ask "Why did you decided to keep your son? I mean with your family, you must have known what you wanted to be, you should have known how difficult it would have been and yet you still kept going anyway" he shook his head as if the concept confused him. "I mean why put yourself through all of that Avery when you had other options like abortion…or adoption" his voice suddenly went hard and Jackson was suddenly aware that Sloan's bright eyes were piercing him with a horrible brightness.

He paused thinking carefully "It wasn't a conscious decision" he admitted thinking hard, "Hugo's mom was against abortion and at the time I kind went along with it…I was numb with shock for a long time, cause It had only been the one time" he shook his head as the memories flashed in front of him. "And then she died" he shook his head. "We had a crib and sonogram pictures and she was gonna get her GED while I went to college and then she was here one second and gone the next and…and even though we were never that close again" he said thinking of dark eyes and slanted cheekbones and that dimpled smile and the smell of green tea in the mornings. "She was still the first and…" he shrugged.

"Life would have been easier if I had done what my mother wanted" he confessed meeting Sloan's eyes straight on. "But it didn't feel right with me, I didn't want that and I…I think you know" he said finally "When you look at your child I think you know and you know what" he shrugged "Maybe I was selfish keeping Hugo…I mean God knows he's had to give up his fair share of sacrifices for me that no kid his age should but…" he trailed off thinking again before allowing himself a smile "I haven't regretted that decision and somehow I don't think Hugo has"

Sloan watched him before sighing and Jackson was suddenly aware painfully of how old the man looked. He nodded "Thanks Avery" he said rubbing the spot between his eyes looking tired and almost ill. Jackson bit his lip wondering how much he should poke. "Mark" he said finally wincing at the first term bases and the look on Sloan's face "She's an adult, she may not look it but this has probably made her one…you should let her make her own decision about this even if it breaks your heart" he shrugged "I broke my Mom's the day I decided to keep Hugo but she's gotten over it"

Sloan stared at him before nodding once.

"Understood" he said finally "I thought I'd ask what with Callie and Arizona on me" he shook his head before pulling himself together. "Avery" he said finally back to the cocky Doctor that Jackson loved to hate working with. "Promise never to say a word of what happened and I'll let you do the scar tissue removal by yourself"

Damn he knew just how to get Jackson to keep his mouth shut, he nodded biting his lip.

Sloan nodded before sweeping on his heel and out the room. Jackson took a moment to look at that innocent little baby that had no idea what was going on before he managed to follow the Doctor out the room back into the busy business of saving lives.

* * *

 **Next Chapter-6x21-How Insensitive-Bailey prepares the team for a sensitive case while Jackson informs his father of a day the following week where he will be off school and that he wants to spend with his Dad-even if Dad is working (short chapter again)**


	17. 6x21-How Insensitive

**So hi! We are back! And there is gonna be an episode with a flashback Jackson/April so all is good in the world for a while.**

 **So this chapter and the next are gonna be short because we are building for the big finale!**

 **Please read and review**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Also I don't know much about work experience in the US but in the UK this kind of work experience has happened providing a safe distance was maintained so...**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 17-6x21-How Insensitive

As Bailey prepares the team for an upcoming patient that needs special handling, Hugo informs his father that the next week he has a project for school and wants to spend the day it in the hospital.

* * *

Jackson knew within five minutes that something was up. Doctor Bailey took them all into an empty room and sat them down in front of a big whiteboard before she began re-teaching them out patient ethics. Jackson had never seen the point of that class in Med School. Maybe because he had been raised to be respectful by his mother who was frightening on her best day. But he was nearly two years away from finishing his residency and for the life of him he couldn't understand why they were relearning subjects that he had passed nearly seven years ago. Unless…

Something was coming in that was important. Like someone famous, oh Jackson did hope it was someone famous mainly because Hugo would be as jealous as hell. He spent the last half an hour of the lecture thinking about who if there was a celebrity and what kind of injuries they would have until Doctor Bailey concluded her lecture and shepherded them all outside into the spring air to wait for the ambulance.

It wasn't a celebrity. That was an understatement. Oh Jackson so wasn't telling Hugo about this one. He didn't need the after effect of his son's laughter in his ears for the next decade and a half. He shook his head trying and failing grandly to not say anything.

Doctor Bailey flashed him a look that promised him a thousand years of punishment before she was done with him and sent him packing to find someone else's service to be on. Ugh he so didn't need Doctor Bailey on his case from now until the end of time. Rather he needed to sink his scalpel into someone's skin and cut away at some internal organs-preferable mangled ones.

He managed to find himself on Doctor Webber's service who had a liver transplant on a teenager who had drunk himself stupid (and he only thought of Hugo once when he was assisting which was an achievement in itself) and was rather happy to check up on the older Doctor's patients while he went to his afternoon AA meeting.

"If you wouldn't mind Avery" he had said looking so horribly embarrassed that Jackson couldn't help but nod and allow him. Doctor Webber paused for several minutes before turning around. "Tell Hugo that Shepherd and me discussed it and he's more than fine to come in on his work experience and see how things are done" Jackson gaped for several seconds before his brain snapped back into overtime.

"What?" he asked thinking hard. Hugo had mentioned something about work experience but that he was still choosing his place of residence. He had no idea that he was still looking into the whole idea of becoming a surgeon. Doctor Webber seemed to take his surprise as concern and thankfully didn't press anymore. He nodded "Lovely phone call I got from him, he seemed most interested and I thought since he hung out here all the time that there didn't seem to be any harm and Doctor Shepherd agrees with me" he shrugged again.

"My son rang you?" Jackson asked thinking of several different ways to punish Hugo in his head and each one coming up naught. Doctor Webber nodded "He got my number from your mother I believe" he said delicately and Jackson rolled his eyes unable to stop himself "That's believable" he muttered and Doctor Webber grinned "I'll keep him on the non-immediate surgical ward with people that won't need to be rushed in. you appreciate that I cannot let him into the OR?"

Jackson nodded feeling rather stunned. "I guess I'll drop him off on Monday" he said forcing a smile at Doctor Webber who nodded and left leaving Jackson with a sudden desire to ring Hugo and a need for a stiff drink. Instead he busied himself with patient charts for Doctor Webber and tried to avoid a rampaging Doctor Bailey who had now kicked Yang of the case who had taken to trolling the corridors looking for something to sink her teeth in.

He chewed thoughtfully on his nail as he continued to watch the events of the sensitive case unravel. Not for the first time since he had started his residency he wished he had chosen an easy path to go down. All he wanted to do was to go home and ask what the hell Hugo was thinking and why the hell he hadn't come to him before he went over Jackson's head and made him look like an idiot.

Today was Thursday so he was able to leave early and get home in time for Hugo to still be awake.

* * *

"You could have told me about the work experience" he said feeling rather put out. Hugo stared at him over his chicken with wide eyes "I did" he defended. "I told you I was thinking about surgery and then when I told Grandma when she rang to ask about my stiches and she gave me Doctor Webber's number" he took another mouthful of chicken as Jackson rolled his eyes so hard he was surprised they didn't stick.

"Ok" he said finally "But you should have just come to me" he bit his lip. "I would have been able to help you myself If you had. Shepherd likes me" Hugo blinked at him before swallowing. "Ok" he said finally "Next time I'll ask you" he shrugged "You were busy at the time" he added looking back at the plate the top of his cheekbones turning red. "You were prepping for that surgery for Doctor Sloan and you said not to disturb you"

Jackson blinked a sinking feeling in his stomach the rock pulling him back under. "Hugo you can come to me whenever you know that right? No matter what I say at the time" he shook his head "I've told you that"

Hugo nodded toying with his folk "I know" he said finally. "I just wanted to do something myself for a change" he shrugged. "And I did"he took another mouthful of his chicken and reached for the bread. "On Monday I'm gonna write a report about the life of a surgeon from that surgeon's perspective and therefore I am gonna half to walk a mile in your shoes. You have to tell me however about what you do in the OR, now that I've been banned from it" he rolled his eyes before grinning.

"This should be fun"

Jackson stared at him before taking a long swig of his beer. "Yeah" he echoed hollowly. "Fun" in truth he had a few other choice words for it but he didn't want to tell his son whose face was animated with what he thought was going to happen. How the hell had his mother gotten Doctor Webber to agree to let this happen? How the hell had Doctor Webber got Shepherd to agree to this?

"Look on the bright side" Hugo said reading him like he always did "I'll be outside the rooms the whole time watching though a window. What's the worse that could happen?"

Jackson snorted into his beer. Yeah. What was the worst that could happen?

* * *

 **Next Chapter-Shiny Happy People-(another short chapter) As an patients love story spirals out of control, Jackson admits to April his worries over Hugo watching him work. **


	18. 6x22-Shiny Happy People

**Hi everyone, so here is another chapter, I apologise for the lateness and the shortness there was really nothing to interest me in this chapter I am saving it all for the upcoming season finale.**

 **I watched The Sound of Silence (finally) and I loved the episode, for me the spotlight was more on Alex than Meredith and I though the bit where he was crying as she was in pain was beautiful, it just reminded me of the last twelve seasons of Alex (mostly) having Meredith's back, throughout George, Izzie and Cristina...it literally took me back to the MAGIC that was Seasons 1-5.**

 **I am debating where to draw a line in this story for future planning. I was thinking maybe after Season 12 should Grey's not be renewed or something happen to either Jackson or April and rounding it off my own AU way. I do love this story and I do love Grey's but the likelihood is that I wont be able to keep writing forever...but I will write to Season 11 that much I can promise you...And yeah I appreciate that this is a very SLOW burn relationship but I wanted to keep it true to the show it took nearly four seasons for Jackson and April to get together so...A big thank you to all of you for sticking with it through it's early stages.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 18-6x22-Shiny Happy People

As a patient's love story spirals out of control, Jackson admits to April his worries over Hugo watching him work. (Another short chapter)

* * *

It seemed both highly improbable that there would be a single quiet day at Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital. For if, there wasn't people dying or cars exploding or bombs or people drowning then there was the constant never ending drama that came from the romantic relationships that seemed to dominate the Hospital's staff then there was always some kind of drama that dominated the halls like a vicious animal constantly trying to find food.

And then there was the never ending thought of Hugo in the middle of it. Somehow, he had never been bothered that much by the idea that his son was here all the time. He had sort of become background when he was. He would wait in some of the places that Jackson knew were out of the way and therefore not only provided physically safety but also mental protection from some of the people that they had to work on.

But there was something about the fact that Hugo was going to be watching him that made him want to cringe because he knew that would make him even more nervous than having an Attending watching him. Because well…it was Hugo. Hugo had been more invested in his career than anyone including his mother, Hugo had been the one that had lost time with his father even at a young age because Jackson had been a firm believer in not only getting what he wanted but also getting everything. His son had never complained about the time that they had lost (Jackson wasn't sure if he had even registered it) but he also supposed that it was a thought that had festered. God knows it had festered in his mind.

"I don't understand why your so worried" April said fixing him with a look that reminded him frighteningly of his mother when they were on rounds for Doctor Sloan. She was finishing up the chart for a post op patient. Jackson frowned "Easy for you to say" he muttered, April ignored him putting down her pen to look at him with a sort of exasperated irritation. "Jackson" she said in her most frighteningly irritated tone to date "It's Hugo; we have sat hundreds of exams and assisted with hundreds of surgeries under the watchful eye of people who want to watch us fail because they think it's fun and this is the one that makes you nervous? Hugo's not expecting blood and guts and knives stuck in ribs all he wants to do is see you in action and quite frankly there is nothing wrong with that" she finished with such a matter-of-fact tone that Jackson couldn't help but gape at her. She shook her head reaching for the next chart with a determined efficiency.

Then something inside Jackson already full and stretched out brain clicked. "How do you know so much about this anyway?" he asked narrowing his eyes. April paused drumming her pen on top of the chart.

"He told you" Jackson accused and April sighed "Yeah" she confessed looking utterly unrepentant. "We Skype sometimes"

Jackson stared at her. He didn't know what was more shocking the fact that April had the time to Skype with his son or the unconcerned way she seemed to be talking about it like it was a regular occurrence.

"I need to go and deal with this for Sloan," she said shutting the chart and tucking it under her arm. She caught sight of his still stunned expression and rolled her eyes "Oh relax" she said shaking her head "He only talks to me about stuff concerning school and things like that…I think he just likes having a girl he doesn't have to impress to run things by" she shook her head. "Honestly, if it was something worrying I'd tell you" she eyed him carefully "Your stressing out about nothing, it's one day and it's not like he watch you operate, your reading too much into your kid wanting to spend time with you" she shook her head.

"What's the worst that you think could happen anyhow?"

Jackson did so hate it when she was right. Really…he hated it.

However, that conversation did pose a more serious thought to take control of his confused brain.

Just how many more people that he worked with were in contact with his son?

* * *

The elderly couple that had found each other were the topic of conversation that dominated the hospital for the rest of Jackson's shift. He had to admit the couple were undeniably sweet and the story was the stuff they made cheesy romantic films out of that were easy to get a girl in the mood on Valentine's Day (not that he could remember the last time that he'd had a date) and the entire population of the hospital seemed to go out of their way to help them achieve whatever it was that they wanted even if it was to simply be close to one another again after so long separated.

"That's sweet" Hugo had said when Jackson had rang him to let him know that Sloan was being an ass and therefore not letting him out until past midnight. The man really needed to get his shit together with Lexie Grey and stop making everyone else miserable.

"Yeah" Jacksons said feeling oddly hollow. He'd had this feeling that he had been unable to explain and now he felt suddenly miles away from his son who was sat on his bed doing his homework like he did every night. "I'll look in on you when I come in but try and get to bed at a reasonable time" he didn't plead though he knew Hugo could pick up whatever was in his voice.

"Yeah" he replied and Jackson could just imagine him rolling his eyes. "Love you Dad"

"Yeah" he said finally. It didn't matter how many times that he heard those words he supposed he would never tire of hearing them. "Love you too son"

He bit his lip after hanging up the phone before groaning with exhaustion. He didn't want to think about why he felt out of sorts. He followed Charles back down the hallway determined not to think about whatever was going on or not…

He just had to get Monday over with and then everything would be fine.

* * *

 **I will update as soon as I am able to.**

 **Next Chapter-6x23-Sanctuary-Part 1 of the Season finale, Jackson, Hugo and April's lives will never be the same again as danger strikes the hospital and it becomes a fight for survival. **


	19. 6x23-Sanctuary

**Hi so here is another chapter, I apologise for the long wait but I had a load of coursework due in that took priority.**

 **However now i'm on a three week break so I can update more frequently.**

 **This is one of the earliest chapters that I planned out notes for. Somehow the season finales are always the easiest to write. The next chapter is one of my favourites simply because the episode was so brilliantly acted.**

 **I know Grey's Anatomy has just been renewed for Season 13 but this story will end after Season 12. I have enough notes to make it to Season 12 and unless there is a major cliffhanger (like plane crash cliffhanger) then I feel comfortable ending this story after Season 12. By that point the character of Hugo will be nearing twenty and this story will probably be the longest I have written so I am letting you all know in advance. I might write a couple of stand alone one shots if there is a significant episode further down the line that I can work into a Japril scene but Season 12 feels like a good place to stop this story.**

 **Please leave a review and tell me what you think.**

 **Disclaimer-Only Hugo is mine.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 19-6x23-Sanctuary

Part One of the season finale, Jackson, Hugo, and April's lives will never be the same again as danger strikes the hospital and it becomes a desperate and bloody fight for survival.

* * *

 _No one laughs at God when staring at the end of a gun_

 _When all hope is lost and there is no end in sight, lift up your eyes, heroes will rise. _

Looking back it seemed stupid really, how the hell he hadn't seen it coming. There had been days when he was stunned by how deep his feelings of unease were. There were hours where he felt like something terrible must be around the corner because at the end of the day fate did not do Jackson Avery any favours. Fate screwed Jackson Avery over time and time again and he was a bloody fool to think that for one second he could live in a world drama free.

Do his job, save people, raise his kid, try and be happy…

He had dropped Hugo off at the main gate and gone in to get changed. He didn't know what the actual plan was as Doctor Webber was running it and as far as he knew the man hadn't turned up yet but Hugo assured him he was more than fine waiting and that he would meet up with Jackson around lunch. And therefore Jackson was more than a little relieved that when the trauma call came Hugo wasn't there. It was a gunshot wound with complications and with a great deal of smugness Jackson beat out both Yang and Karev for the surgery and followed Doctor Hunt and Doctor Altman (who were steadfastly ignoring each other) into the OR.

* * *

Hugo he knew was supposed to be working on his report until the afternoon when he was supposed to be following Doctor Webber. And with that in mind Jackson scrubbed in, allowed his mind to go blissfully blank and forget all about was happening upstairs.

Hugo had spent the morning in one of the conference rooms waiting for Doctor Webber to come back from breakfast with his sponsor. The morning dragged on until it hit nine. His Dad had insisted he come in early and therefore Hugo was sat with nothing to do. He decided to go and grab a coffee because nine AM was a good few hours earlier than he liked to get up and he needed the caffeine shot. He grabbed the elevator on the ground floor and was just about to shut the door when he heard a distinctly male voice sound out 'Hold it please' he did so out of reflex and the man came walking in. There was something about him that looked distinctly familiar but Hugo for the life of him couldn't place it.

"You look a little young to be working here," the man said in an attempt Hugo was sure to deflect from the rather awkward silence. Hugo smirked. "It's my Dad who works here" he said leaning back against the wall. "He's a surgeon"

If he hadn't been looking at the buttons on the wall depicting which floor they were on then he wouldn't have noticed it but the man's hand seemed to twitch towards his pocket and he turned to look at him sharply for once taking Hugo in with those haunted eyes that seemed to speak of some unimaginable pain.

"I'm looking for the Chief of Surgery" he whispered tilting his head to the side and Hugo could defiantly feel unease creeping down his spine. He clutched his bag tighter. God how could they still be five floors away?

"Can't help you there man" he said trying to keep his tone steady "Never been to it, stay mostly around the floors waiting for Dad to finish work"

That did seem to catch the man's attention. "You don't have a Mom to take care of you?" he asked his tone taking on a sliver of surprise rather than the cold emotionless voice that he seemed to adopt. Hugo shook his head a little unnerved about how easy he was pouring his soul out to a stranger.

"She's dead" he said scuffing his tone along the edge of the floor. "It's just me and my Dad" he shrugged again. The man nodded again looking thoughtful before speaking up. "He's your whole world?" he asked looking him full in the eye again and Hugo nodded unable to do anything but be truthful. "Yeah" he said feeling slightly defiant about the whole thing. The man nodded and the elevator doors suddenly opened. Cristina Yang got in and even though it wasn't his floor Hugo got off. The whole thing made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and suddenly he had a deep desire to go find the nearest nurses station and see how long the surgery his Dad was assisting on was going to take.

It was barely half an hour later when he could hear the screaming. He looked up just in time to see the man again but this time he saw something else. There was a gun in Hugo ducked hitting his head on the edge of the table as he fell to the ground and the pain of it made his eyes water.

Then suddenly throughout the screaming and the shots he could hear what sounded like his Dad. That was impossible because he knew his Dad was in the OR but for a second he heard his Dad's voice in his head.

 _"_ _You have to move bud_ _"_ he said sounding gentle and the sound was the only thing Hugo could hear over the pounding footsteps near his head. " _You have to move, stand up and move_ _…_ _NOW_ _"_

Hugo stood up and ran for the stairs without thinking twice unaware of the blood dripping down his head from where he'd fallen and the dead nurse ten feet away. If he had looked up he would have seen Lexie Grey and Mark Sloan…but he didn't and they didn't see him and with that Hugo ran for the stairs and out into the main corridor.

He carried on running down the floors until he stopped the adrenaline slowly leaving him. He had no idea which part of the hospital he was in but as he tried to breathe he remembered something the man had said. 'The Chief' he was after Derek Shepherd. Derek Shepherd who Hugo liked very much, the man who Hugo didn't want to see dead. He turned around prepared to run till he found the man, or at the very least Meredith Grey until he tripped and went flying skidding across the hallway.

The shock of falling had momentarily suspended the adrenaline coursing through him and it was with a horrified resignation that Hugo took in the blood on his hands and his clothes, he was willing to bet his face as well. He turned around and found he had no voice to express his horror.

It was Reed who had been perfectly nice to Hugo those times when he had met her. She had a neat little bullet hole in her head, she was shot close range he realised numbly. She wouldn't have felt a thing. It was with another burst of horror that he realised blood was still leaking out of her. There were tracks his brain registered numbly. Like someone else had been hurt but had managed to what? Crawl across the floor into an elevator? Hugo swallowed heavily before in a daze he managed to stand up and stagger down the nearest stairs onto the next floor. It was then that he saw the trashcan and it was then that he promptly emptied the contents of his stomach onto the floor. He wiped his mouth feeling disgusted before spitting some more. Whatever had happened here he didn't know but he knew he would have to keep moving. He shuddered once more and with his Dad's voice still in his head he managed to walk in a straight line. Where he was walking to Hugo didn't know, who he was walking to Hugo didn't know either however what he did know was that whatever happened he had to keep walking.

At least until he found someone that he knew.

* * *

Jackson had been operating only for an hour when Doctor Shepherd came in calling him to the door. He looked torn between a man scared and a man trying to keep his shit together. "Has anyone looked at their pagers yet?" he asked in an undertone and Jackson shook his head.

"There is a shooter in the hospital" he said in a tone even quieter than before, so much so that Jackson really had to strain to hear him.

There was a second where Jackson couldn't think and couldn't even breathe. The roaring in his ears rose up and a sort of haze filled his vision before he could swallow down the bile in the throat. Derek Shepherd was still looking at him before the fog cleared. He swallowed heavily at the man's dark eyes and was aware suddenly that he too had a wife who was trapped inside this now prison. It took him a while before he realised that Derek Shepherd was still speaking to him.

"Can you handle this?"

Truthfully? No fucking chance. If Hugo was still out there…maybe he had gone out for some air or…but really when had fate ever been that kind to him? Shepherd was still looking at him, he was still watching his every move. He really didn't have much of a choice either way. There was no option he had unless he wanted to alert someone to what was wrong and he couldn't do that when the patient was still open on the table.

"Yeah" he managed to croak out, Derek caught his eye and nodded as if seeing through the bravado. "Sir" he said as Derek turned to leave, the man turned back catching his eye. "Hugo" was all he could say.

Something seemed to flicker across Derek Shepherd's face before it was shuttered down again. "If I find him I'll personally escort him to my office…I got Kepner there and he should be safe with her…but Jackson" and Jackson took in the first time that the man had used his given name "The entire hospital is on lock down there's a good chance that he's on a floor with the door locked safe and sound"

Jackson nodded, it was something but he didn't think that it would help him. The fact that Hugo was _not in his sights_ wasn't helping him remember to breathe but…God please let him be ok…let him be locked on a floor with at least three security guards and a load of surgeons. A floor that was locked tight and so far away that the shooter wouldn't notice it.

"You alright Avery?" Hunt said to him watching him closely. "Your hands are shaking" Jackson looked down and nodded to himself. They were. He breathed again. Whatever happened there was somebody else's son on the table and he had to concentrate. But God…

 _Please let nothing happen to his._

* * *

Hugo had eventually made it to the edge of the floor he was on and onto the corridor that lead to what looked like the offices of the Chief's of Department. He had managed to control his breathing but his damn hands wouldn't stop shaking and he wanted to scream but didn't think he had a voice left. God he wanted his Dad, he wanted to crawl into his bed like he had done when he was a kid and hide away from the rest of the world like nothing could ever touch him. He wanted to pretend that there was nothing bad in the world. That his Dad would protect him from all the monsters.

But he couldn't so he was concentrating on breathing in through his nose and trying to stop his hands from shaking. And so far it was actually working very well. Well…ish…

"Hugo" came a voice from his left and he must have jumped in the air clean three feet before he remembered how to kick-start his heart back. He chewed his bottom lip looking around for the source of the noise.

It was April. She looked worse than he felt if that was possible but she crossed the room from the Chief's office and dragged him into her arms in the middle of the floor. He saw out of the corner of his eye Derek Shepherd come out of the nearest door and up the stairs but paid him no attention. April still had her arms around him and he closed his eyes finally relaxing for the first time in what felt like hours but was probably half the time. "Thank God you're alright" she whispered pressing a kiss into his hair as they stood in the corridor like nothing could happen to them, like they weren't visible for the gun happy shooter to come barging in and fire at them.

It was the first time someone other than his Dad or Grandma had kissed him. He didn't know how to feel about this. It was the first time he had ever been held like this, as if by a mother.

He screwed up his face and buried it in April's hair feeling so impossibly young that he didn't know what to do. All he knew is that he felt impossibly safe in an impossible situation.

A door slammed behind them and it made them break apart April wiping his eyes for him like he was a child her face split into a terrified smile that managed to make him feel both terrified and reassured all at the same time. "We should go and wait inside" she said gesturing to the office and Hugo nodded.

Suddenly she stopped her mouth falling open and Hugo bumped into her. She turned around her face now a picture of utter horror. "Run" she hissed pushing him backwards so he was out of sight behind the nearest wall. Hugo turned to ask her what the hell had happened before he saw it.

It was Derek Shepherd talking to the shooter. It was the guy Hugo had been in the elevator with and the full realisation hit him. He had been a room with the man who was shooting up his Dad's work. He had been alone with him. His instincts had told him something was wrong and he had done nothing.

 _He had told the shooter that his Dad was a surgeon._

April pushed him back further her expression still terrified but determined all the same. "Go and hide" she hissed looking wild "Go" there was something about her tone that kicked Hugo into moving again and he pushed backwards turning to run down the corridor, and down staircase after staircase until he found himself in another bland, deserted corridor near the OR board where he found a perfect hiding spot under the stairs.

And he was there when he heard the shot ring out clear and crystal. He forced his hand over his mouth least he scream or vomit and give away his hiding place and with the realisation that he was on his own with no idea if his Dad was even…

His legs gave out and he found the strength to crawl under the stairs as his bravery and his voice finally left him. Curling his legs under him he buried his mouth in the crook of his elbow and finally…finally…allowed the tears to fall.

* * *

 **And let me know what you think.**

 **I will update as soon as I can.**

 **Next Chapter-Death And All His Friends-Part 2-Jackson, April and Hugo's lives will never be the same as danger strikes the hospital and It becomes a desperate, bloody fight for survival.**


	20. 6x24-Death And All His Friends

**Hi another chapter and this one concludes Season 6! I have finally written the one episode that was on my list to write, this episode was so terrible and yet so good at the same time I have no words, ever actor shined and for me this is one of the episodes that they will never be able to top. I know we sometimes hate Shonda Rhimes but this was one of the best episodes and brilliantly written.**

 **Another note, I know that I said I would write till the end of Season 12, but instead I have decided to end this story at Season 10. Season 11 is brutal in words that I cannot describe and writing it would send me to a dark place that I have been before and that I don't want to go back to. Season 10's last episode saw all couples either get closure or be happy and I think with a few tweaks that the episode could be the end.**

 **Disclaimer-I own nothing but Hugo.**

 **Please read and review your reviews are like magic to me and inspiration as we enter Season 7.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 20-6x24-Death And All His Friends

Hugo, Jackson and April are caught in the middle of a tragic situation, and survival becomes a desperate and bloody fight that will change their lives.

* * *

 _"_ _You were always faster than me, I_ _'_ _ll never catch up with you_ _"_

 _"_ _Tonight is the night we_ _'_ _ll fight till it_ _'_ _s over_ _"_

It took several seconds before Hugo could move of that floor. It might have been several hours but he honestly wasn't sure. He honestly wasn't sure but he knew it was at least a minute before he stood up. His legs were shaky and he didn't even have to look at his hands to know that they were shaking as well. All that he knew was that as long as he could put one foot in front of the other then he could walk to the OR. No matter what happened. No matter who came looking for them. No matter who or what or whatever happened Hugo was going to stand side by side with his father.

And it might sound corny but Hugo knew that if it came down to it he would stand in front of a bullet for his father. The alternative…the thought of standing in front of the bullet for his father was the only thing he could think of that would make sense. Hugo had never been arrogant when it came to his Dad. There was no way in hell that Hugo could live without his father in his life. If it ever came down to a choice between the two of them then the only person that had to survive was his father.

And if Hugo had to die rather than live a life without both his parents then he could do that easily. His Dad had to become the surgeon that Hugo needed him to become.

So with shaking legs and a shaking hands and with a now dry face he heaved himself to his feet and staggered upwards. He was getting to an OR and it would take at least three bullets before someone would stop him. He could get himself to the red line and then from there on in he was one his own.

* * *

Jackson was still staring at the blood on Cristina Yang's scrubs before her words sunk in finally. Derek Shepherd had been shot. The Derek Shepherd that was supposedly looking for Hugo. "April" he forced out though gritted teeth, "In the OR behind me are two nurses and an anaesthesiologist go get them" she did so looking confused but dawning comprehension was on Cristina Yang's face and Jackson knew that she knew where this was going.

"We don't have a surgeon" April hissed looking terrified. Jackson resisted the urge to snort. "We have a surgeon" he said finally. In the battle between everyone else and Cristina Yang he knew immediately that she had won the battle. He had conceded the point. She had won. And she was the one that had to do this because honestly Jackson wasn't sure that he could.

He shook his head as Cristina said she would do it and April's eyes widened in horror before the look of realisation covered her face. Her eyes were stricken for a brief second before she nodded at him. As Cristina went to tell Meredith that she was operating on her husband despite being two years short of qualifying as a heart surgeon Jackson grabbed April by the elbow and dragged her to the corner of the corridor.

"Shepherd said he was going to find Hugo and send him to you" he said urgently. April stared at him her face still stark with terror before she spoke. "I saw him" she said urgently. "I was with him nearly three minutes ago" she shook her head at the look on Jackson's face that he knew reflected terror. "Jackson" she said grabbing his face in her hands and forcing him to look at her, "I was with him and then the shooter came and I told him to run" she shook her head "Jackson I didn't want him to get hurt so I told him to run but he was fine…I promise you that when I saw him last he was fine"

He forced himself to breathe in and out. April had seen Hugo, April had saw to it that he was fine, he had run, which wasn't uncommon-hell Jackson would have told him to run had the situation been reversed. He took his bottom lip into his mouth for a second before letting it go. Hugo could be anywhere in the hospital and Jackson was a doctor with a bleeding patient on the table.

 _Please_ he thought desperate to anyone who had chosen to listen. _Please don_ _'_ _t let me lose my son today._

April grabbed him as he moved towards the OR allowing Meredith and Cristina another moment. "Reed is dead" she said her voice a whisper. "Point blank to the head, she…"she swallowed "She probably didn't even see it coming"

Jackson shook his head in an effort control his emotions and he swallowed hard determined not to think about Hugo and to think about something else. He pressed April against him in a bizarre hug that she briefly returned for a split second before they broke apart. While he and Reed hadn't been close she had still been with him since day one, she had become a familiar face and the fact that she was dead still managed to shock him. He thought briefly of Charles and what he would say when he found out and he closed his eyes still with April clinging to him.

April pulled away wiping her eyes and reaching for a scrub cap. She shook her head her expression becoming stony. "Go in there and save Doctor Shepherd's life" she said managing a small smile "I'll be alright"

And with that Jackson scrubbed in and carefully rid his thoughts of the little boy somewhere inside this death trap that had once been a hospital and April found herself on the floor next to Meredith Grey whose hands were also shaking even though she pretended not to notice.

* * *

Hugo followed the floors due to muscle memory before he found the red line on the floor indicating that he had reached his destination. He crossed the floor and pushed open the double doors and was finally in the OR corridor.

So this was where his Dad spent his time? This was where they saved lives. These rooms where people lived and died. It was in a room like this that his mother had died.

Hugo knew very little about her. He knew that his Dad had been there when she'd died but other than that he didn't know much, he know how to ask for more. He wasn't sure how to ask because the past was painful. Especially when it came to his father. He wasn't sure how to bring up the conversation and right now crossing the floor of the OR and peering through each door didn't seem like the right time.

From what Hugo could see the shooter hadn't gotten down here. In fact if Hugo didn't know that his father had been in surgery he would have assumed that the entire floor was empty. Oh Holy Shit what if it was? What if Shepherd had cleaned out the ORs and his father was outside safe and sound and perfectly healthy? What if he was looking for Hugo now?

That thought made him stop dead on the floor. It was then that he noticed that the top of his converse was covered in blood. He looked up eyes following his jeans (which were soaked) and his white v neck that he'd worn because today was one of the warmer days was half red and half white. He looked down at his hands that were stained red from where they'd broken his floor. He had to tear his eyes away from his hands and shoes before his stomach rolled in waves again and again and he couldn't help but swallow down the bile that was rising steadily. He shook his head and ploughed on, even if he felt sick to his stomach.

And then finally he came across what looked like an OR that was full he could see Meredith Grey talking with April before she pushed through the door into the actual room. He pushed open the door and what he saw made what was left of his stomach dropped to his feet. And without thinking he pushed past April Kepner and followed Meredith Grey into the room.

* * *

Jackson was calm. He had kept calm despite everything, despite the fact that Derek was worsening with every second they were prodding around his chest, despite the fact that they were hopelessly out of their depth and despite the fact that at this very second there was a lunatic pointing a gun at them and ordering them to stop. But he couldn't stop, he couldn't let Derek Shepherd die on the table, he had took an oath to save people and even if he did want to pull his hands out he couldn't. It went against everything that he believed in even before he became a doctor. Yang's hands were shaking and she was crying tears streaming down her face but her voice remained calm at least until Hunt was in the room.

"Don't" the shooter said pointing the gun at him even as Hunt caused a distraction allowing Jackson to pass Yang the retractor. "Stop fixing him" he demanded looking furious.

"Shoot me"

Meredith Grey had entered the room. She was as white as chalk but looked resolute. And someone else was coming in behind her.

The hand on his suction froze. He could hear Cristina hissing at him but in that second Jackson Avery could honestly say he couldn't hear anything in detail. For a few seconds that felt like an eternity he couldn't see anything other than Hugo who had come running into the room taking in the entire surroundings before his eyes snapped back onto his father.

Hugo was covered in blood and God that was an image he wasn't going to get out of his head anytime soon, but as far as Jackson could tell none of it was his. April was behind him and judging by the way her wrist looked Jackson supposed Hugo had pushed past her in order to get into the room.

"Fuck" Hugo said looking around in horror. "Fuck Dad, you ok?" he was still looking at Jackson with those expressive eyes that Jackson had looked into every day for nearly thirteen years as if he couldn't see the danger he was in just by being in the room. April was still stood in front of the door her face slack with horror and her eyes on his face but Jackson couldn't help but notice that the shooter was boxed in and April and Hugo were the ones that were standing in the way.

The shooter who had been watching Yang with a horrified fascination turned to Hugo his expression changing from fury to one of complete surprise. "Jackson" Yang hissed at him even as Meredith Grey began to speak. "I need you to clamp the vessels I can see the bullet I can get it out"

Jackson ignored her. The shooter whose eyes had been on Hugo the entire time Meredith Grey was begging him to shoot her, was now gripping the gun with a horrified concentration.

"He's your…He" he pointed at Jackson with the gun and some sort of sound wrenched itself out of Hugo's throat that made Jackson instinctively flinch. He shook his head minutely because _please baby stay where you are please_ _…_

"Yeah" Hugo breathed as if reading a different conversation, he tore his eyes away from his father and wrenched them onto the shooter. Jackson thrust the retractor at Yang before he looked for what he needed. It was a whole different set of priorities because when it came down to a choice between Derek and Hugo then he knew which one he was choosing to survive. He knew which one he would help survive. Hugo caught his eye for a second but still took another step towards the shooter.

"Remember what I said?" he asked carefully edging his way around the table, _around to him,_ Jackson realised even as he managed to apply more suction. Then the words hit him full force. Hugo knew this man, Hugo had had a conversation with this shooter. Suddenly he had to force his hands to stop shaking because, _his baby had been near the man with a gun, and his son had had a conversation with a shooter._ He swallowed again forcing his eyes to look down to make sure that the heart was still pumping, if the guy just disappeared in nearly three hours and left them to it this might be done. He swallowed again before forcing his hand to move so Yang had enough room to remove her clamp. He forced his eyes back upwards as the shooter spoke once more.

"I remember" came the croaked reply and Hugo nodded again inching forwards. "You said he was the world" he said and Hugo nodded. April shot Jackson a look her expression terrified but confused and in that moment Jackson couldn't blame her though he had a sinking feeling that he knew what Hugo was saying.

Whatever Hugo or the shooter would have said next was drowned out. Doctor Hunt had decided that enough was enough, as the shooter moved closer to Hugo swinging the gun again dangerously near Yang's head he moved with such a force that it was all Jackson could do to ensure that Derek stayed attached to the stable.

The shooter (and it was so much easier calling him the shooter in his head rather than giving the man a name) turned around and with a bang Owen Hunt was on the floor, Cristina and April (who had been stood frozen by the door) screamed. Meredith jumped her hands finding her belly. The shooter turned around gun ready but the side of the gun caught Hugo in the face.

It was like watching it in slow motion. There was a crack like a starting pistol as the gun connected with Hugo's face and then the clashing and clanging of sterile, sharp instruments as Hugo fell into the table before he lay there quite still on the floor and didn't get up.

Jackson dropped the surgical tools onto the table next to him his hands leaving Derek's body. He was calm even over Meredith's screaming and he realised that Cristina had yanked his hands out of the body and was speaking fast the machines around her bleeping and whirling. In that second Jackson honestly couldn't say what she'd done but whatever it was seemed to be working.

He knew that he should know what she had done but he couldn't take his eyes of the figure of his son was still on the floor, still not moving.

"Doctor Avery" Cristina yelled as Meredith crawled over to Owen Hunt who seemed to be stirring. Hands numb he followed the next step of the surgery in his head. They were on better ground now, the tear had been repaired, the shooter was gone and why the hell hadn't Hugo moved yet? He looked up his hands still shaking, his mind still a mess and still unable to speak least he become hysterical before he caught sight of April still stood by the doorway. Tears were falling down her face but she looked resolute. Like she didn't even know she was crying.

"April" he called out his voice sounding like it was coming from another person because really? He couldn't be that calm. "Is Hugo breathing?" April blinked before she crossed the room dropping down to her knees in the midst of all the broken medical waste.

 _Please, Please, Please_ _…_ _._

"Yeah" she said her voice steady breaking off into a shaky laugh. "He's alive Jackson, just a nasty cut that's gonna need stiches and a concussion which I think he's coming out of now…" she bent down again her voice lowered over the machines.

"Hugo sweetheart?" she asked before the most beautiful sound (well second if you counted the first time Hugo had called him Daddy) came in the form of an undignified groan. Hugo pushed himself up ignoring April's protest blurry eyes finally... _finally_ focusing on his father.

God they were the best shade of green there was. The one thing Hugo had gotten from him. They were wide and frightened but they were staring at him and that was enough.

"April go help Meredith" Cristina said as she reached for the thread to stich the last part of the heart up. "Tell her that I'm nearly done"

"Go" Hugo muttered as April protested "I can stand on my own" she bent down pressing a hand on his head for a brief second before she stood up and forced herself to leave the room.

"Are you Ok?" Jackson asked as he passed Cristina the last tool she needed. Once she got the heart beating then she could stich him up and this would all be over. Hugo stood up gingerly gripping onto the edge of the nearest table wincing. He looked winded and shaky but alive. He nodded swallowing hard. "I think so" he said finally his voice weak.

His face was bleeding. Jackson made another weak noise and Hugo immediately reached a hand up to his face. A combination of falling and being hit in the face with a gun had created a deep cut from temple to cheekbone downwards that was bleeding heavily. That would have to wait though judging by the look of it not for long.

Hopefully he still had enough adrenaline left in him to do stiches.

"Oh" Hugo said his voice small and God, Jackson though desperately as Yang reached for the paddles, he was small, he was thirteen, he should be in school not here…not bleeding…not seeing his father with a gun to his head…

The door opened just as the heart monitor started bleeping with a start. Cristina reached for the paddles as a white faced April, a bleeding Meredith and a resolute Owen came in. the later's arm was in a sling but he looked like he was going to make it. The girls had literally patched him up, though Jackson supposed that might have been at his insistence not theirs.

Hugo was still stood to the side, blood dripping down his face holding his arm watching the heart beat in front of him, Meredith had moved to her husband's side, April and Owen were staying out the way and quiet but the two of them were unnaturally close. And then just as they were all about to give up hope, their breathes collectively held the heart finally started beating.

Meredith burst into tears huge hacking sobs like the ones before only this time she forced herself to stop. In a rare moment of solidarity April wrapped both her arms around her and the older woman finally broke down and sobbed into her shoulder for a second before she pulled herself together.

April moved then to Jackson. "Go" she said reaching for the suction, "It's just closing him up and I can do that"she jerked her head towards Hugo who was still frozen in place in the corner. "Go to him" she said her voice quiet. "Go and hold your son Jackson I can do this for you"

Jackson shot a look at Cristina who nodded once her expression softening for a split second. He moved only so April could grab the tools and she immediately began removing the clamps ready to stich up the skin. He stripped of his gloves dropping them to the floor along with the gown covered in blood and finally… _finally_ …wrapped both his arms around his son and pressed him close.

Hugo let out a huge shuddering breath and Jackson was suddenly aware that he was shaking. "It's ok" he muttered soothingly like he would do whenever Hugo was little and would crawl into his bed seeking solace from a nightmare. "It's ok baby, Daddy's here"Hugo for the most part seemed to de-contract his muscles relaxing in Jackson's arms and even though he was bleeding and they were still in danger Jackson never wanted to let go, never wanted to lose this for as long as he was alive, never wanted to let Hugo out of his sight again.

Hugo let out another shuddering breath again something muffled crawling itself out of his throat and Jackson knew what they were. He pressed his face into Hugo's hair and rocked him back and forth on the spot gently until he was quiet. He was willing to bet the second they were alone (or his mother was here) Hugo would break down but for right now he was forcing himself to stop. He pulled back his eyes wet and Jackson got a first look at the cut still leaking blood.

"Your gonna need stiches" he muttered still keeping one arm pressed between Hugo's shoulder blades. Hugo just pressed himself tighter against his father body still shaking.

The door opened at that point again, Jackson jumped pressing Hugo behind him slightly as April screamed softly her hands stilling on the scalpel she was holding.

They needn't't have feared. It was a member of the SWAT team and peering behind him was Richard Webber his eyes wide and horror struck as he took them all in. "We need to move" the Captain said gesturing them forwards. "We have a team on standby ready to remove all casualties, you can come back for your things later but right now everywhere is considered a possible crime scene"

Two orderlies wheeled Derek out, Owen refused point blank to be put on a stretcher but instead clung to Cristina's hand. April offered the same to Meredith who shook her head silently instead following her husband. "Is he dead?" she asked the Chief as she passed. Richard nodded silently. Meredith closed her eyes before she opened them and finally moved.

Richard Webber opened the door for the three of them and with Hugo still clinging to him and April shaking on the other side of him the three of them moved down the corridor through the hospital and out into the sunlight.

"We made it" April said wonder in her tone as they shivered in the sunlight. "I…I never thought that we would make it" she confessed her face still wet with tears. Jackson nodded even as Hugo sniffed again.

"April can you go find us a ride to Seattle Press" he asked gently "I need some supplies before I can work on Hugo's face" April nodded, her hand reached out and squeezed his for a second before she disappeared in a wave of brown hair. Jackson watched her go before turning back to Hugo.

"We made it" he said again stomach rolling. Hugo looked up at him his eyes still clouded over with emotion. It took him several tries before he could speak.

"We do have a habit of doing that" he said his voice shaking.

Jackson took another gulp of fresh air. "Yeah that we do kiddo"

There was plenty to talk about and the worst was not yet to come. But that is a discussion for another time, another place, another chapter, and right here and right now the only thing that mattered was that the two of them were standing alive amidst all the bloodshed and horror surrounding them and that they were with each other.

After that the only thing left to do was breathe.

 _"_ _When all hope is lost, and there_ _'_ _s no end in sight, lift up your eyes, heroes will rise_ _"_

* * *

 **Next-We head into Season 7, with 7x01-We see Jackson and Hugo attempt to rebuild their lives, this includes moving into Meredith's house, nightmares, breakdowns, a harrowing school shooting, a new relationship, therapy and a lot of flashbacks.**

 **A lot of the next season will be in flashbacks.**

 **I will update as soon as I can, feedback is adored. **


	21. 7x01-With You I'm Born Again

**Hi so welcome to Season 7! We have a lot of angst and heartbreak and father son bonding moments ahead of us so stay tuned.**

 **Again I am writing to Season 10. Which is good because Japril Season 12 is killing me. I can see where April is coming from and I can see her reactions. She's pregnant and she's terrified for her baby's health and Catherine was as much help as a bullet to the back of the head. While I love Japril right now I am Team April.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

 **Flashbacks are in italics. There should be a flashback for the next four of five chapters. I think...**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 21-7x01-With You I'm Born Again

As Hugo and Jackson attempt to regroup after the shooting, they move into Meredith's house attempt to deal with the death of a loved one and Hugo attempts to deal with the fact that his father is going back into the OR. This chapter contains flashbacks.

* * *

The first day back was always hard. Walking through the hallways that people had died in was even more sombre than usual. Jackson and April had gone back at the same time and she'd clutched his arm the whole time. Jackson couldn't help but blame her. Cristina still wasn't coming back, Meredith and Alex still on sick leave, Lexie Grey walked in with them and she flinched everytime there was a noise. Hugo for the most part had been terrified when Jackson had announced he had to go in to see a councillor. He had tried to hide it but Jackson knew his son well and he knew when he was trying to hide something and boy was he trying to hide his fear.

"I promise you, I'll be ok" he said from where Hugo was watching him getting dressed from the bed of the new room in Meredith's house. Hugo was still in his pyjamas. He shook his head "Don't make any promises you can't keep" he said finally. "Just let me know if you have to stay late" and then he buried his head in his knees effectively ending the conversation.

The stone silence from Hugo had been that way since the shooting. If Jackson had been worried about his school he hadn't needed to be, the school had been more than happy to allow Hugo to take the rest of the month of before the summer kicked in. That was good because Jackson wasn't sure in that month that Hugo could leave either the hotel room they'd been staying in or the house. Even now two months later and Hugo was always up when he came home no matter what time it was.

Sloan, Torres, Altman and Robbins were all back and cleared as was Webber who had smiled at each them warmly as they'd come in on the first day back. He had assured them that the one on ones were mandatory. Hunt, Bailey and Shepherd were the only attending's waiting to be cleared and all the residents were strictly banned from the ORs.

At least until they got cleared individually.

* * *

 _Jackson had dragged Hugo to the nearest empty corridor at Seattle Press and forced him into a chair bending down to look at the mess that was his face. Hugo was still shivering. April bent down muttering something about finding a blanket._ _"_ _It_ _'_ _s just shock but I_ _'_ _ll try and find an attending from our hospital and see if they_ _'_ _ll check him out_ _"_ _she whispered in his ear and Jackson nodded his thanks._ _"_ _I need to stich up his face, can you find what I need?_ _"_ _he asked and April nodded her expression too understanding._

 _Jackson gave up checking Hugo_ _'_ _s face and instead slid onto the seat next to him wrapping both arms around his son and pulling him close._ _"_ _You don_ _'_ _t ever do that again_ _"_ _he whispered into the dark hair._ _"_ _Please never put yourself in danger like that again_ _"_

 _Hugo shook his head._ _"_ _He had a gun at you_ _"_ _he whispered his words coming out mismatched due to the shock. He sat up suddenly looking around like he half expected the shooting to start again._

 _"_ _What_ _'_ _s wrong?_ _"_ _Jackson asked trying to keep Hugo in his seat, he didn_ _'_ _t need to be a doctor to know that Hugo_ _'_ _s nerves were already shot to shit._

 _"_ _I was in an elevator with him_ _"_ _Hugo said looking horrified and confirming what Jackson had already known._ _"_ _I told him that you were a surgeon, if he_ _'_ _d have shot you it would have been my fault_ _"_ _and he burst into loud tears as finally everything he had been though in the last hour finally caught up with him._

 _Jackson stared for a split second before he wrapped his arms back around his son and shook his head._ _"_ _Nothing_ _"_ _he said using the last bit of strength he had left to make his voice strong,_ _"_ _That has happened today is your fault_ _"_ _he said gripping Hugo_ _'_ _s face in his hands._ _"_ _How the hell you are still alive I don_ _'_ _t know_ _"_ _he said his voice shaking,_ _"_ _But you are so I_ _'_ _m not complaining. You kept calm in one of the worst situations that you could ever be in and I am so proud of you_ _"_

 _Hugo sniffed loudly tears still falling down his face before the door next to them opened. Jackson flinched but Hugo was wiping off the evidence of his tears. It was April who looked if possible even whiter than before with Mark Sloan who was in blood covered scrubs and an expression that looked like it had been carved out of stone._

 _"_ _Hey Avery_ _"_ _he clapped Jackson on the shoulder_ _"_ _It_ _'_ _s good to see you, and you to Baby Avery_ _"_ _he said turning to Hugo and smiling sadly_ _"_ _I ran into Kepner who explained about your face_ _"_ _he turned to Jackson before bending down to peer at Hugo_ _'_ _s face._ _"_ _Yeah that should be easily cleared up_ _"_ _he said grinning looking slightly back to normal._

 _Jackson paused_ _"_ _I was gonna do it_ _"_ _he said trying to make it clear to Sloan how important it was for him to stich up his son. Sloan caught his expression before it softened again ever so slightly._

 _"_ _Avery_ _"_ _he said gently_ _"_ _Your shaking_ _"_ _Jackson looked down at his hands and indeed he was. So fixated on Hugo he had been that he hadn_ _'_ _t realised that his hands were shaking. He looked up to find Sloan watching him cautiously._

 _"_ _Avery_ _"_ _he said still in that gentle tone,_ _"_ _You cannot stich up his face and you know that_ _"_ _he shook his head._ _"_ _Chances are you_ _'_ _d ruin his face and God knows the amount of teenage angst that you_ _'_ _d be in for_ _"_ _he shook his head but his tone brooked no argument. He was stitching Hugo_ _'_ _s face up period._

 _Jackson perhaps knowing that the argument was unwinnable nodded allowing Sloan to take room._ _"_ _Don_ _'_ _t leave him with a scar_ _"_ _he said in the man_ _'_ _s ear._ _"_ _Please I don_ _'_ _t want him to remember this everytime he looks in the mirror_ _"_ _Sloan stared at him for a split second before nodding._ _"_ _Ok_ _"_ _he said gently_ _"_ _Ok I can do that_ _"_ _he said grasping Hugo by the elbow. Hugo started out of his stupor but nodded._

 _"_ _Were gonna go into the nearest room and I_ _'_ _ll stich up his face_ _"_ _he said he said to Jackson._ _"_ _Coordinate with Kepner and then come join us_ _…"_ _he gave Jackson a look_ _"_ _Avery_ _"_ _he said in his no nonsense tone_ _"_ _Get yourself under some sense of control before you join us_ _"_

 _There was a pause before April gripped his arm preventing him. And Jackson knew she was about to read him the list of casualties._

 _Still unsure whether or not to let go of Hugo but also knowing that Sloan would refuse to let anything happen Jackson finally allowed Hugo to go. April grasped his sleeve and she paused._

 _"_ _Tell me_ _"_ _he said staring at her._

 _April paused for a split second._ _"_ _Derek is in recovery, Meredith is being checked out, Owen Hunt is fine just some scars, Alex_ _…_ _Alex got shot, but he_ _'_ _s going to be alright._ _"_ _Her voice trailed off and Jackson knew in that exact moment who the next person was going to be._

 _"_ _Charles_ _"_ _she choked out._ _"_ _Charles is dead_ _"_

* * *

"So" Andrew Perkins said carefully watching him. "I imagine that it must have been hard for you, you had a son, you had a best friend that was dead…I understand that your mother came to help things out"

Jackson nodded once deciding to focus on his fingers.

* * *

 _He had took Hugo back to a hotel, it was decided after Charles_ _'_ _s death that Hugo couldn_ _'_ _t set a foot in that apartment and they were still in the clothes they had been wearing that day. His Mom had been hysterical when she_ _'_ _d found out about what had happened even more so when she_ _'_ _d realised Hugo had been there._

 _"_ _Mom_ _"_ _Jackson said opening the door after checking it twice._

 _"_ _Baby_ _"_ _his Mom said opening the door fully and sweeping into her embrace. She lifted the bag at her side once they_ _'_ _d pulled apart._ _"_ _I took care of some clothes, stopped by your apartment, the one that you_ _'_ _re selling and picked up some stuff for you and for Hugo._ _"_

 _Hugo peeped his head round the door at that point looking so utterly fragile with his scar fading and the stiches still bright that his Mom seemed to crumple. She crossed the room and wrapped both her arms around her grandson and Jackson shut the door and allowed her to pull him into a hug that seemed to comfort him and torment him all at once._

* * *

"Yeah, but Meredith allowed me and April to move into her house so that was good" he said finally. "I took George O'Malley's room, April Kepner took Izzie Steven's room and Hugo took one of the smaller rooms to the side. I can barely fit a desk and a wardrobe in there but he's calmer" the fact that Hugo was calmer when he was away from any place associated with the death of the man he had loved like an Uncle and a friend was given.

Andrew Perkins nodded. "Doctor Avery…" he paused scribbling something down. "How did it make you feel, your son bursting into that room?"

Jackson stared at him, "Terrified" he admitted finally "But I was proud" and that he was "I was so, so proud of him, that he would think even for a second that he could fight rather than flee. It doesn't stop me from waking up in the night terrified that he's going to be shot and it doesn't stop him from sleeping in my bed like he used to do when I was little because whatever nightmares are keeping him up at night he needs me for…but…I dunno" he shrugged again. Whatever went down with Hugo he didn't feel the urge to tell this man who'd known him all of two seconds.

Andrew Perkins regarded him carefully. "Ok" he said finally handing Jackson a piece of paper, "You're cleared for surgery"

Jackson blinked at him. "You are shitting me" he deadpanned.

Andrew Perkins chuckled. "No Doctor Avery I am not shitting you" he said smiling. "I think you can handle whatever is happening on your own" he paused as if thinking and for the first time Jackson realised he was unsure about something.

"Jackson" he said finally. "I don't usually offer this because…well I don't usually see kids in this trauma" he raised a hand at Jackson's indignation "I am not judging you" he said finally. "I want to help you, I'm going to be in town for a while and if you want I can happily sit down with your son and talk though some issues"

The offer honestly floored Jackson and he paused. While a part of him wanted Hugo to receive help the other part of him didn't.

"I'll think about it" he said honestly

Andrew Perkins nodded. "Ok" he said smiling that smile of his "My door is always open. When April is ready send her in for her appointment"

Jackson rose clutching his permission sheet to him before ducking out the door holding it open for April. He thought of Hugo stuck back at home, sleep deprived and terrified and convinced something bad was going to happen.

He checked his watch. Maybe if he got Webber on his good side he'd be allowed to go home early. There was a wedding to plan for in a few days, all of them pretending to be normal for Owen Hunt and Cristina Yang who he suspected would never be normal again.

Whatever happened from this day forwards he would endeavour to keep Hugo safe, both mentally and physically. It was the same vow he'd made the day he'd known he was a father, when he saw the scan, when he saw the baby for the first time, when he'd chosen his career instead of his child. When he'd allowed Bailey to wheel him into surgery, when Hugo had almost been shot…

He would protect his child. Everything else was second place.

Everything.

* * *

 **Next Chapter-7x02-Shock To The System-Jackson is back in the OR and Hugo is back in the hospital terrified of leaving his Dad alone. April tries to keep it all together, Cristina and Meredith both suffer and there is a lightening filled casualty. Meanwhile a flashback to the days after the shooting sees Meredith in a new light, Catherine Avery take control and Jackson dealing with the grief of losing his best friend. **


	22. 7x02-Shock To The System

**Hi here is another chapter, and for those of you who wanted a break from the angst I expect it go on for quite a while.**

 **This however gives you all the first look at April's Point of View so enjoy.**

 **Please Read and Review**

 **Disclaimer-Hugo is mine nothing else.**

 **(Also, Japril's baby can kick!)**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 22-7x02-Shock To The System.

Jackson is back in the OR, Hugo is back in the hospital terrified of leaving his Dad alone. April tries to keep it all together, Cristina and Meredith both try to desperately keep it together and there is a lightening filled casualty. Meanwhile in a flashback to the days after the shooting sees Meredith in a new light, Catherine Avery takes control, and Jackson deals with the loss of his best friend. First April Point of View as well.

* * *

The next week presented a different challenge. Hugo was back in school and seemed to be doing ok even if he was shyer and quieter at home. Jackson wondered if that might be because of the people living with them. It was true they were as different to Charles as they could get but they were also loyal and good workers and Jackson knew good friends.

Living in Meredith's house was Meredith and Derek who seemed to know how to keep the professional and personal boundaries apart when they got to work, Alex Karev who was still walking around with a bullet in his chest and was now newly divorced. Lexie Grey who seemed to have an annoying habit of walking around in her underwear. Well it wasn't annoying to him but it was hard not to laugh whenever she walked into the room in her underwear and Hugo nearly spat out his breakfast that one time. April was there to and she seemed to take on most of the cleaning, then there was Jackson and Hugo who was still following him like a shadow.

It was a work in process but one Jackson knew that they were working through so therefore he didn't see any issue with letting Lexie know about the surgery Altman had booked them in for this morning.

"God I'm jealous" she said as Hugo came in yawning his hair mused and his face still sleep ridden. "I would give just about anything to get back into the OR, and you have what must be a seven hour surgery ahead of you" she shook her head as April entered the room.

There was a shattering that made them all look up. The glass Hugo was holding had shattered. Glass was all over the floor and milk was dripping down Hugo's hand. He stared for a few seconds before he looked down at his hands. "Sorry" he muttered looking back up at them.

"Sorry" he said again a forced laugh forcing its way out of his throat. It was that sound that started them all out of there stupor.

"I'll get a mop" Lexie said smiling at Hugo before ducking out the room. April was closely behind Jackson. "Did you cut yourself anywhere?" he asked gripping Hugo's hand as April began depositing the larger pieces of glass into the bin. Hugo shook his head his expression painfully closed off before he managed to smile.

"Sorry" he said again but April shushed him. "Don't be silly, it's a glass" she shook her head smiling gently. "Go and get dressed and we'll clean this up" Hugo did so still not looking at anyone. April shook her head catching Jackson's expression. "I think it might have been you saying you were back in the OR" she said gently.

"You think?" Jackson said feeling irritable. "Sorry" he said catching the look on April's face. "It's just…I'm his Dad you know, and he keeps telling me that he's alright but I know he's not and I'm not sure if it's bravado or what…" he shrugged.

April leaned against the sink for a second. "I think it might be he doesn't know how to deal with it…have…" she shot him another look before ploughing on anyway. "Have you asked him about seeing Andrew Perkins, I know that he's seen as an obstacle but to be honest I found him kinda helpful, I mean he got the three of us all out of that hotel we were staying at and he did help Lexie get some sleep and me and you cleared for surgery" she shrugged. "Maybe you should see if Hugo's up for it"

The thought resounded in Jackson's head. In truth he'd though of nothing else since the offer had been made but there was still something he didn't like about Hugo talking to strangers about something that he couldn't understand the first thing about. Not the way Hugo saw it.

But April was right, they were out of that hotel.

* * *

 _It wasn_ _'_ _t there first day back, more to the point it was an induction. To the new alarms, the new protocols and what they would have to do in order to get back into the OR. Hugo had protested when he_ _'_ _d told them he was going in but his mother had simply wrapped her arms around the boy and told Jackson that she_ _'_ _d take it from here. It was one of the few times that he was glad that he had his mother_ _'_ _s support. Even when he didn_ _'_ _t want her around she somehow found a way to make it better for him._

 _Walking in he could already tell that somethings were different the walls and carpet were all different colours probably to cover the blood splatters. He shook his head and ducked it to his shoes determined not to look at anyone. April had gone in to collect Reed_ _'_ _s stuff to send back to her parents and had ended up at the hotel the three of them had all found themselves living in, in floods of tears over a bottle of white wine complaining how the surgeons were being blamed for what had happened._

 _His mother who had caught her crying on Jackson_ _'_ _s arm on the way to the room and had taken the young woman by the arm, handed her a box of tissues and comforted her the rest of the night leaving Hugo and Jackson to themselves._

 _"_ _I_ _'_ _m sorry_ _"_ _April had cried over Hugo_ _'_ _s ice cream and her fifth glass of wine._ _"_ _I_ _'_ _m not usually like this Doctor Avery but_ _…"_

 _And then his mother had said something and then both women were crying._

 _"_ _Can we go somewhere?_ _"_ _Hugo had asked looking horrified at all the emotions._

 _"_ _Yeah_ _"_ _Jackson said feeling rather disturbed._ _"_ _Burger in the restaurant sound good to you?_ _"_

 _Hugo nodded and much to Jackson_ _'_ _s private glee he ate much more than he had done previously._

 _Anyhow it was back in the locker room (Charles mercifully cleared by his parents) that Jackson ran into Meredith Grey. She was sat on the benches looking so utterly lost that even he felt concerned._

 _"_ _You ok?_ _"_ _he asked sitting down next to her. She nodded._ _"_ _Derek_ _'_ _s home_ _"_ _she said her voice low._ _"_ _I didn_ _'_ _t want to leave him but Sloan is there and Alex as well so_ _…"_ _she trailed off shaking her head._

 _"_ _You lost the baby_ _"_ _Jackson said remembering that Cristina had said that she was pregnant. Meredith looked at him._

 _"_ _Derek doesn_ _'_ _t know_ _"_ _she said finally._ _"_ _I don_ _'_ _t want him to know. I had only found out that day_ _…"_ _she shot him a look._ _"_ _You_ _'_ _ll keep your mouth shut_ _…_ _and Hugo if he overheard any of it_ _"_ _she shot him a look that shocked him for a second. For the first time since he_ _'_ _d known her Meredith Grey looked scared. Even at gunpoint she had never looked scared._

 _He nodded_ _"_ _To be honest I doubt that Hugo remembers much_ _"_ _that much was true._

 _She nodded._

 _"_ _Sorry about Percy_ _"_ _she said finally. Jackson nodded. She turned to look at him before she looked back down._ _"_ _Are you still staying at the apartment? Kepner mentioned something about you moving into a hotel_ _"_

 _Jackson nodded._ _"_ _Until I get the apartment sold and find a new place yeah_ _"_ _he said finally._ _"_ _Hugo freaked when we went to pick up some stuff and Charles is just everywhere_ _…"_ _he shook his head trailing off._

 _Meredith snorted._ _"_ _You can_ _'_ _t keep a thirteen year old in a hotel room without him going even more insane take it from me_ _"_ _she looked down at her hands before she looked back up._

 _"_ _I asked April to move in to the house_ _"_ _she said suddenly_ _"_ _Izzie_ _'_ _s room is free and she took it_ _"_ _she swallowed._ _"_ _George_ _'_ _s room is free as well if you want it and the room where my Mom was keeping all her surgery tapes and other memorabilia is empty as well. Lexie sleeps in the attic and Alex has his own room if you_ _'_ _re interested_ _"_ _she trailed off looking him straight in the face._

 _In all honesty the offer floored him. He wanted to thank her but didn_ _'_ _t think he could do so without crying and he didn_ _'_ _t want to do that._

 _Instead he just nodded._

 _Nearly three weeks later the two of them moved in._

* * *

It was him and Cristina in the OR for the first time and it was Hunt and Altman with them. They worked seamlessly as a team, and Jackson knew that the two of them were probably the sanest after the shooting.

He hadn't expected to fall back into a pile of silver sterilized instruments.

For a second he wasn't in the OR with two attending's and a team of staff and people watching from the gallery, he was in _that_ OR watching Hugo fall into the table and not get up, he was watching Meredith scream and beg on her knees and Owen get shot. The trauma surgeon met his eye as he righted himself and perhaps he saw more than he meant to because he allowed Jackson to carry on without saying anything.

And then something totally unexpected happened.

Cristina Yang collapsed.

* * *

April hadn't meant to be there it was just that it well…happened…

She had deposited off the latest charts of to one of the nurses and was all for heading to the nearest on call room before she saw it. Him. Hugo.

He was dressed in jeans and a jumper and he had his head down, but it was him. She paused.

"Hugo?" she asked walking over. Hugo looked up at her his face white, he seemed to be struggling to speak.

"Hey April" he said finally in a voice that was so fake she wanted to cringe. He coughed slightly.

"Is, err, my Dad out of surgery yet?" he asked looking around as if Jackson would appear around the corner. April's heart went out to him, the poor kid was clearly terrified and doing his damned best to hide it.

"No not yet Sweetie" she said. Somehow she didn't think that touching Hugo would be the best thing but she didn't want him to think that he was alone. She didn't want him to think that he had to be strong in front of her.

Later April would go home to the house, find a moment of privacy and open a bottle of whatever wine was in the fridge and ponder what the hell this meant but until she could do that she was going to take care of this boy as if he was her own. It was the Christian thing to do. She grabbed hold of Hugo's hand in spite of herself. He looked up at her confusion colouring his face.

"How about we go into the gallery and see what's happening?" at least that way, she reasoned, the kid could see that his father could operate without a gun to his head. That might be better for them all round. April was relieved to see Hugo nod his head once.

She led Hugo to the elevator punching the number, thankfully the ride remained empty. "Sorry" Hugo muttered, "I was in school but then all I could think about was him in that room so I bunked" he looked at her his brown eyes suddenly so expressive that April couldn't look away.

"I don't normally do stuff like this, I'm not a baby"

"I know you're not" April said and that much was true, she wasn't a parent and she didn't know what Jackson and Hugo had both gone through but she had been in that room and she knew enough about her fellow residents to know what Jackson had been through even afterwards the house had been through too much, Lexie had been committed, Alex and Derek both shot, Meredith had lost her child and her best friend and she and Jackson had buried their best friends and moved out of their homes and into another one.

There were things in that house that weren't discussed. That didn't mean they didn't happen.

"Don't worry about it" she said as the doors opened and she led Hugo down the hallway. "Nobody here will judge you" she hoped Hugo understood the sentence as April would never judge him but she wasn't sure.

She led Hugo into the back of the gallery forcing him to take a seat. Hugo scanned the room for his father and then seemed to relax when he saw him. April slipped into the seat next to him.

"Kepner" said a voice to her left and she saw Doctor Bailey shoot her a reproving look but she felt unrepentant in that moment.

"I couldn't leave him" she whispered. "Look at him Doctor Bailey he's terrified" thankfully Hugo didn't seem to hear them but Doctor Bailey let her eyes fall over Hugo and April remembered that she too had a son. She shook her head her expression softening before she nodded. "Ok" she said "But if the patient flat lines, then I want him out" April nodded knowing it wasn't going to get any better.

And then Jackson went and knocked into the tray.

April grabbed Hugo's knee her hand in a death grip in order to keep him in his seat.

And then Cristina Yang did the last thing that April would have thought possible. She collapsed on the floor and remained there quite immobile. Meredith ran off and Bailey moved to Hugo's other side though she didn't deter them from staying.

April moved silently catching the older woman's eyes. "I think we should go wait for your father in the Residents Room" she said gently "Whatever's happening with Cristina I think we should let Meredith handle it don't you think?"

Hugo turned to look at her before he nodded. "You won't leave" he muttered and April shook her head her heart protesting at the very thought. "No" she said gently "And Doctor Bailey will tell your Dad to come and find us when he's done"

She looked to Doctor Bailey then who nodded her head once and with that April pulled Hugo to his feet and forced him to move out the gallery and back towards the elevator.

It was only half an hour later that Jackson came in through the room. He nodded to April who knew that any conversation they had about what had happened today and that what had happened in that OR later when their shift was over and the wine was opened. She turned to leave thinking it was best to find something else to do but she couldn't help but feel her heart hurt a little bit more when she left her broken friend and her even more broken son alone together.

But whatever happened April Kepner was going to stick by Jackson and Hugo Avery's respective sides. Whatever happened she was going to be a good friend to the both of them, even if that meant picking up all the respective shattered pieces.

That was what friends did.

* * *

 **Updates will be coming regularly.**

 **Please let me know what you think.**

 **Next Chapter-7x03-Superfreak-There's another Doctor Shepherd in town, Jackson wants Hugo to talk to Doctor Perkins, who does his best to talk to the young teen and Doctor Webber is more than concerned when he keeps seeing Hugo in the OR gallery (until Bailey puts his mind at rest even though it might not for the best) meanwhile in flashbacks, Hugo is struggling to sleep the group go to the funerals of those that died in the shooting. **


	23. 7x03-Superfreak

**Hi so here is another chapter. This one needed to be cut in half slightly so don't worry if some of the chapter synopsis was cut out...**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing but Hugo is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review**

 **(And side note, Season 12-Japril are having a healthy baby)**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 23-7x03-Superfreak

There's another Doctor Shepherd in town, Jackson wants Hugo to talk to Doctor Perkins who does his best to help the troubled teen, Doctor Webber is more than concerned when he keeps seeing Hugo in the OR gallery until Doctor Bailey puts him straight despite the fact it might not be healthy, meanwhile in flashbacks Hugo is struggling to sleep after the shooting and the funerals for those who died are held.

* * *

Jackson had been out on his coffee run with Hugo when he brought it up. It was a Saturday one of the most memorable because he managed to score the morning off. While he would usually be trolling the hospital for cases at the time right now he had more pressing matters. While Hugo's school hadn't mentioned the amount of time that he'd been missing Jackson wasn't an idiot. This was Hugo's last year before he moved onto High School and Jackson knew that the teachers were more concerned with all the time off he'd been spending rather than how he was coping.

So it was on a Saturday morning over coffee and muffins that Jackson tentatively brought up Andrew Perkins.

"Doctor Perkins is leaving this week" he said finally over his latte. Hugo looked at him blankly "So?" he said finally.

"So…"and here was where it got tricky. Hugo was an Avery after all and pride was one of the things Avery's lived on, along with surgical instruments and expensive booze. "So I was wondering if maybe you wanted to speak to him before he left, you know tell him some things that you don't wanna tell me about…" he trailed off.

"The Shooting?" Hugo asked staring at him.

"Yeah" he finished lamely. "Look I'm not gonna ask him for a full report if that's what your worried about but…Hugo you bunked off school three times last week and ended up in the OR gallery and look" he said raising his hands "I know that you don't wanna have this conversation but I don't want CPS on my ass wondering if the fact that I have a job in a hospital that was shot up is affecting you, because then things get more and more complicated and…" he trailed off but he knew that Hugo got the picture. Hugo stared at him over the rim of his hot chocolate. "I'm not bunking off anymore" he pointed out "Or I won't or…whatever…"he shrugged. "But…I don't need to sit down and talk about my feelings"

"Yeah kid" Jackson said finally "I think you do." He paused "I hear you sometimes" he confessed. "I sleep in the room next to you I know that you don't sleep well and Alex said he saw you up at three in the morning that one time"

Hugo scowled. "Look" Jackson said finally. "Tomorrow is a half day just come along and If it's crap I'll take you out for pizza after my shift and that's that. But…" and here he tried to keep his voice steady. "Baby I'm worried about you"

"Oh Lord" Hugo said with an eye roll. "Don't bring out the nicknames, fine I'll go see this Perkins bloke, but I won't like it. I don't need some shrink poking his nose into my business"

"That's the spirt" Jackson said grinning. Hugo rolled his eyes again. "Can we have cupcakes instead of pizza" he said suddenly "I know this place that has giant red velvet ones covered in icing?"

"Sure" Jackson said glad that for once they could carry on a normal conversation.

* * *

"So" Doctor Perkins (Call Me Andrew) had said once Hugo had settled down and his Dad had left him with another worried look that Hugo had been used to seeing these days. "I want you to know Hugo that whatever you have to say to me is strictly confidential. I won't even tell your Dad unless of course I feel you need a course of treatment that would need his consent. Unless you would like another Doctor to sign off on any consent"

"April" Hugo said quickly "If you have to have me committed have April do it" he grinned.

"Ok" Call Me Andrew said writing it down, shit Hugo hadn't meant for him to take it literally.

"So how you've been Hugo since the shooting?"

Hugo shrugged. That was what his best friend Theo called the 'Golden Question' "I'm alive" he said finally. "So's my Dad so I guess it could have been worse" that much was true. Call Me Andrew nodded. "So I guess that it could have been a lot worse"

"What made you run into that room that day Hugo?" said Andrew. And Jesus was this guy for real? Wasn't it obvious why Hugo had ran into that room the second he had seen the shooter waving his gun close to his Dad's head?

"My Dad was in the room" he said finally resisting the urge to give up just there and then.

"And you thought you could help?" Hugo shrugged. "Honestly I don't know" he confessed "I think I kinda blacked out, all I could see was the gun and my Dad and the rest just kinda happened."

Andrew nodded again making another note in his book.

"Hugo why do you keep skipping school?" he asked and the change of tack was so jarring that Hugo couldn't help but answer honestly.

"Because I think my Dad is going to die in an OR room and I won't be there"

Well that was out there now. And Hugo felt like a complete and utter idiot. Andrew stared at him. "Does that keep you up at night?" he said finally and Hugo shrugged. "Sometimes" he said again. "I don't really sleep that much anymore. Look" he said interrupting whatever it was that Andrew wanted to say.

"It's not because of the shooting. When I was a kid I had a Dad that worked long hours and he was there for most of it but for a lot of it he wasn't and we used to burn through sitters and I used to wait for him to come home, most of the time I just pretended I was asleep when he would come in and check on me. I don't sleep well that's just the way it is before during and after the shooting"

"Ok" Andrew nodded. "I believe you, but Hugo how did you feel right after the shooting, right after when you were in the hotel room."

Hugo paused. "Nobody was sleeping" he admitted"April was in the next room with us most of the time and she used to come in at night and she and my Dad would quiz each other on medical stuff and talk a lot about…" he swallowed. "About Reed and Charles" he looked down at his sleeves. "Look" he said finally forcing a smile onto his face. "I am fine, I bunked off school a couple of times but to be honest name me one kid who doesn't do that once or twice. I have trouble sleeping but that's nothing knew either, I live in a house with a load of surgeons, the aftermath of all the trauma or whatever constantly surrounds me. I told my Dad this morning he had nothing to worry about and I meant it."

He tried to sound brave but he was worried that Andrew had seen right through him. The man didn't change his expression and Hugo who had thought he was actually rather good at reading people felt rather unnerved. "Ok" Andrew said finally. "Are you sleeping ok now though, enough to function?"

Hugo thought for a split second of the three hours he had gotten this morning, the hour he knew he would get when he got home on the couch and sporadic twenty minutes he'd get before dinner, before the nightmare's started that woke him with shaking hands and him clamping down his bile and forcing himself to breathe before he ended up with a fully blown panic attack.

"Fine" he said finally. "Can I go now?" he asked. Andrew looked at him for a long second before finally nodding.

"Hugo" he said and Hugo turned around already preparing to leave his hand on the doorknob.

"Yeah?" Hugo asked trying to hide his desperation to leave the room away from the presence of this man with his eyes that felt like they were ripping down all the walls that he had managed to protect himself with no matter what. "You can always ask for help"

And with that cheesy offering Hugo nodded shut the door and finally ended the conversation.

* * *

 _The funerals were simple and easy. Charles parents hadn_ _'_ _t wanted anything fancy for their son, Doctor Webber spoke at the funeral followed my Miranda Bailey who_ _'_ _d had to stop several times before carrying on. April had held his hand halfway through the service when for a split second his composure that he promised himself would be iron clad seemed to waver. Hugo was like a pale stone next to him._

 _They bailed out earlier. Charles parents had said all they needed to say to him when he helped them pack up his best friend_ _'_ _s stuff and thankfully they were more than happy to leave Hugo out of any conversation. Once they had realised that Jackson hadn_ _'_ _t been there when Charles had died they had mercifully changed their attentions onto other people._

 _Reed_ _'_ _s funeral had been long, her parents had gone big and flashy. April had learned her head on his shoulder seemingly too tried to speak or even cry. Thankfully Jackson had been able to leave Hugo at the hotel with his mother and then take April out for a drink to steady her shaking hands before he took her back to the hotel._

 _And then it was over. Their best friends were dead in the ground and there was nothing that neither Jackson nor April could do about it._

* * *

That night the house was teaming. Amelia Shepherd was in town and despite the fact that Lexie came home looking like someone had killed her cat the rest of the house was in full swing taking about the cases that they had worked on including the one where a man was covering in what sounded like branches and woodland moss. Hugo nodded along as April heated up last night's casserole and Alex set the table discussing the fact that Amelia Shepherd had diagnosed a man while on an airplane.

"You ok?" his Dad asked looking at him curiously muttering under his breath and Hugo resisted the urge to roll his eyes with difficulty. "Yeah" he said nodding.

"How was the talk with Doctor Perkins?" his Dad asked looking down trying to pretend like he wasn't interested in the answer.

"Pointless" Hugo lied. "I'm fine he said so, I don't need committing or anything"

"I never said…never mind" his Dad said clearly not one to spoil the mood.

"I'm fine" Hugo repeated forcing himself to flash a smile. His Dad either took it at face value or had decided to let the subject drop for the meantime and God Hugo hoped it was the former.

He thought back over what Andrew Perkins had said about asking for help, about sleeping and waking up without nightmares of his Dad's brain being shot across an OR. He scrubbed a hand over his face.

Whatever. He was fine. Who needed sleep anyway?

* * *

 **Next Chapter-7x04-Can't Fight Biology-Jackson uses his looks to get access to the OR much to Hugo's amusement until it starts to work. Webber worries that Hugo is always in the OR. Hugo sticks up for April against Lexie and may or may not cost his Dad some time in the OR for his own piece of mind. Meanwhile in one of the penultimate flashbacks Sloan stiches up Hugo's face and gains some perspective on the teen. **


	24. 7x04-Can't Fight Biology

**Hi so here is another chapter. Sorry this took so long I had exams and what not but now i'm done so now i'm free to update.**

 **I was gonna write a bit more about the Altman/Jackson conversation but I feel pretty happy with how this ended so...**

 **Hugo's issues will be dealt with probably in the next episode, episode eleven will be dramatically AU so giving you fair warning.**

 **Also first Richard Webber (who is utterly likeable no matter what) point of view**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

 **Also i'm gonna take a moment to talk about Season 12. Finally a Japril Happy Ending and did we all see how horrified Jackson was when April told Ben to save the baby over her? The spark isn't dead! Also Baby Girl Avery!**

 **Finally we say goodbye In Season 12 to Callie Torres. Sara is undoubtable a great actress who turned the woman who Meredith and Izzie thought was screwing George around to the woman who had a baby with Mark Sloan and decided to cut of her wife's leg regardless...she turned a goofy character into a serious one and that was what made Callie enjoyable even in the last episodes of Season 12 where she was unbearable. While I've had issues with the character in the past and Derek, Mark, Lexie, George, Cristina and even Izzie had far more memorable and traumatic exits it's always sad when an actor leaves and I wish her all the luck.**

 **Now that's over and done with bring on Grey's Anatomy Season 13!**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 24-7x04-Can't Fight Biology

* * *

Jackson uses his looks to get into the OR much to Hugo's amusement until it starts to work. Webber worries that Hugo is always in the OR gallery. Hugo sticks up for April against Lexie and may or may not cost his Dad sometime in the OR for the sake of his own sanity. Meanwhile in one of the penultimate flashbacks Sloan stiches up Hugo's face and gains some perspective on the teen.

Ok so Jackson had always been good looking. But when he had overheard on a Saturday morning when Hugo was stood on one side and Alex Karev on the other that he was too pretty to do surgery without distracting the Attending's he couldn't help but feel hurt. His family had pulled this exact same crap repeatedly. He could never be both smart and pretty could he? He had to be the one.

Well it took two to play at that game.

"Oh good Lord" Hugo said after watching him flirt his way into a heart surgery. "That was probably the most horrifically tragic thing I have ever seen, I will need therapy for that"he shook his head grinning. Jackson couldn't help but grin back because this was the first time in a long time he had seen Hugo grin at him like that.

"Wait your gonna be in surgery then?" he said the grin sliding of his face,

"Yeah" Jackson said turning his attention back to his chart and missing the look of terror on Hugo's face, "You gonna wait around here until I get out or head on home like usual?"

"I'll wait" Hugo said his voice filled with a sense of unease. "I'll be in the locker room"

And with that he disappeared. Jackson blinked before remembering he had to scrub in in ten seconds and practically evaporated back into the OR.

* * *

All of this however was witnessed by a rather concerned Doctor Webber.

Oh it wasn't the flirting. Richard Webber had seen more than enough interns and residents trying to score their way into surgery so much so that nothing really surprised him. It was more to do with the teenager that seemed to never leave the hospital. Ok, Meredith Grey had never had a life outside of here either but she had never been shot at until recently. She had never looked at her one remaining parent with terror in her eyes and she had never actively hung around the OR Gallery simply because she wasn't sure if Ellis was going to survive the surgery.

This called for drastic measures.

"Kepner" he called to the younger intern who sped around and turned to face him already a smile on her face. (Now that was what Richard called enthusiasm) "Can I ask you a personal favour…young Avery is here again and…"

April God Bless her sweet soul picked up on the problem immediately. "Let me guess" she said frowning. "Jackson's in surgery and Hugo's scared"

Richard nodded. "Can you keep an eye on him…I don't like the idea of that boy worrying himself scared in the locker rooms, maybe take him with you on rounds…" he paused. "You do that and I'll let you open and close on the next General Surgery of your choice"

April beamed.

"Sure thing Sir" she said smiling before ducking back off into the crowd. Richard nodded to himself. He should make a mental note to put Kepner's name on the list of people he was considering to become Chief Resident. God knows she had the compassion for it. He shook his head again. Granted he still wasn't all the way back yet but there was room for improvement and that was simply because he had managed to accept that he needed help. Somehow…he didn't think that kid would accept any help anytime soon.

Maybe he should take Catherine Avery up on her offer of a professional urology consult?

* * *

Hugo had spent the entire day following April and Lexie. He had stood on the outside of the room while that crazy woman had confessed to driving a car into the laundromat where her husband was having an affair. He listened to Owen Hunt's predicament that three people had been pulled out of the laundromat dead and then he listened to April casually mention something to Lexie only for Lexie to start shouting even as Meredith Grey arrived her expression disgruntled.

Hugo tried to block out the noise and the shouting and the swearing because it was all getting to him building and building in his head until it was pounding and really what right did Lexie Grey have to judge someone like April who had been in that room with him despite everything? Who had cooked him meals and spent time talking to him despite their busy schedules? Who had buried her friend and still had come home to an unfamiliar house and made Hugo tea and fussed about his Dad eating something solid?

He had finally snapped when Lexie had said in a loud carrying voice that April, "Didn't understand what the past few weeks had been like"

God couldn't she just shut the hell up?

It took him a second before Hugo realised the entire floor had gone silent because he had apparently shouted that part out loud. Emboldened he carried on regardless to the fact that April was shooting him a rather panicked look and Meredith Grey was looking at him with an increased sense of concern.

"Yeah" he said snarling viciously. "Shut up about the fuck up about that shooting? April has done more for you, me and your sister than anyone will ever know. We were in that room with guns pointed at our heads because you unplugged a machine, and yeah it might not be your fault directly but you don't get to stand here and judge anyone who was in that room when your brother in law was cut open on that table…I don't care what your last name is you don't get to say it"

He breathed heavily through his nose before he realised that he couldn't seem to get air past through his nose into his lungs. He tried to breathe suddenly but he was struggling because his Dad was in the middle of an OR and Hugo wasn't there to see if it was going to go alright.

(To make sure that there wasn't a gunman going to burst through those doors)

Then suddenly Mark Sloan was there, the Doctor that had stitched up Hugo's face he seemed to take in the entire situation head on before he grasped Hugo by the elbow and forced him to sit down.

"Breathe kiddo" he said carefully. Hugo looked up trying to control his breathing. April sat down next to him and in a moment of weakness he laid his head on her shoulder. "Sorry" he muttered to Lexie who shook her head muttering something about being sorry herself. He closed his eyes.

"Your good Baby Avery, were all good"Sloan said and Hugo shook his head because how could they be all good when Cristina Yang was currently walking about looking like she might collapse on the floor at any minute and the hospital staff were staring at the surgeons like they were to blame for every missing paperclip and how his Dad was walking in an out of OR rooms acting like he couldn't get shot at any given moment.

* * *

 _"_ _You_ _'_ _re good Avery_ _"_ _Sloan had said to him when he_ _'_ _d stitched up his face that one time._ _"_ _Were all ok_ _"_ _his hand drifted against it_ _'_ _s own accord as if he wanted to reach out and comfort him but he thought better of it._

 _Hugo was about to say something_ _…_ _anything_ _…_ _but then his Dad came back in sitting down on the bed and letting his hand rest on Hugo_ _'_ _s knee. He would have leaned into the touch but Mark Sloan had a huge fucking needle pressed up close to his face._

 _"_ _This isn_ _'_ _t as deep as it looks_ _"_ _he said to his Dad who nodded looking so impossibly tired that even during his internship he hadn_ _'_ _t looked that tired._

 _"_ _Thanks Sir_ _"_ _his Dad said quietly but Sloan only nodded looing just as tired and worn as his Dad did. Hugo realised that Sloan himself had had to perform complex procedures on a friend of his with his ex-girlfriend and a killer on the loose. The man had been through the ringer same as the rest of them._

* * *

Hugo was pulled out of that memory abruptly rubbing his eyes. God he needed to sleep.

He really, really needed to sleep.

* * *

 **Next Chapter-7x05-Almost Grown-Jackson's deep in someone's brain, the house finds out about a film crew filming the hospital after the attack and Hugo's sleeping issues gets worse. **


	25. 7x05-Almost Grown

**Hi so here is another chapter, i apologise for the delay but I've had exams and work and have just finished a marathon of Grey's from Season 1 to Season 11 which was emotionally exhausting. But here is another chapter.**

 **This finally concludes are arc on the shooting except for one more episode, the next chapter deals more with Hugo returning to himself. He's had his huge emotional release and now he and Jackson can move on.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review**

 **I am going on holiday soon but my goal is to post at least two more chapters before that so fingers crossed.**

 **Any questions send them in please.**

 **And let me know what you think of this chapter.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 25-7x05-Almost Grown

Jackson's deep in someone's brain, the house find out about a film crew coming to the hospital in the upcoming weeks and Hugo's sleeping issues get worse leading to a full confrontation between father and son for the first time since the shooting.

* * *

The peace of the morning breakfast (for once they all had a day that started at eight AM and therefore could sit down and actually eat something) was ruined approximately three minutes in by the slamming of the front door.

This simple task did nothing to dispel the terror that seemed to sweep across the room when the door slammed open. Alex jumped in his seat, Lexie practically inhaled half of her coffee, April screamed softly by the sink and Hugo who had been sat next to Jackson twirling his spoon in his cereal sat up hand coming up his head as Cristina Yang whirled her way into the kitchen her usual expression nowadays consisting of a mixture of fear and anger.

"You won't believe what the Chief is doing next week" she said rolling her eyes and grabbing the coffee pot. She seemed not to understand that she'd almost given the residents of the house near heart failures and Hugo dropped his eyes back down to his bowl. It had been another restless night for him and he was sick of it, it wasn't so much the nightmares now more to do with the insomnia and most of the time he spent staring at the ceiling wishing that he could fall asleep.

He chewed his lip carefully. He doubted anything Cristina could tell him would interest him. There were no cool surgeries, no more trauma recommendations, everyone was cleared to cut again. It was only the little things like the lot of them jumping whenever a door slammed and whenever the TV was on loud or the rain was too heavy that sent their minds back to that day.

It was never discussed.

"What the hell are they throwing at us now?" Alex groaned chomping down on another piece of toast.

"They want to film us" Cristina said with the relish that came with something exciting to talk about. Hugo dropped his spoon.

"Film?" he asked catching everyone's attention. "They wanna film us? For what? What did we do?"

There was an awkward pause.

"We lived"Alex said looking furious. "This is just gonna mess everything up what in depth interviews about the shooting and how it had an effect on us and all sorts of crap" he rolled his eyes before storming out.

Cristina watched him for a second before shaking her head. "We should have died that day" she said finally before grabbing her coffee. "This is pointless"

Hugo watched her carefully before his eyes drifted back to the food in front of him. He was so tired that all he wanted to do was sleep. But when he slept the nightmares just seemed to hit him again and again each time like the last.

* * *

Despite all the attention on the film the residents were quickly stunned into silence when they realised that they were being given the chance to for a day at least to act like Attending's.

"Wow" April said turning her head from side to side and looking at her navy scrubs in the mirror. "This is bittersweet" she turned to Jackson. "It's almost a tease for things to come, we've earned so much but so little" she shook her head as Jackson followed her out into the hallway to collect this morning's charts.

"Hey is Hugo ok?" she asked him carefully brushing back her red hair.

"Yeah why?" Jackson asked watching her. There was a reason why April was asking what she was. Whatever the reason April was the main one in the house who seemed to not struggle with the boundaries that came to Hugo. Alex and Meredith seemed to tolerate Hugo but seemed to struggle to connect with him and vice versa. Lexie was friendly but then again she was friendly to everyone and Derek Shepherd liked Hugo and was possibly fond of him but it wasn't like the two of them spent their time talking.

April shrugged. "I hear him sometimes" she explained. "In the middle of the night, most of the time he's watching TV but there are hours where he walks up and down the stairs like he's trying to tire himself out"

She stared at him and Jackson blinked because…really he didn't understand how April had figured it out. He had been worried about Hugo since the beginning regardless of how but in truth he didn't know how to broach the subject. Hugo was stubborn of that Jackson was well aware and he didn't admit weakness to himself even when it affected his heath. It didn't exactly make life very easy for Jackson in the long run.

"He…I think he has insomnia" he confessed to April who nodded. "I take it speaking to him about it doesn't help even before the shooting?" Jackson shrugged running a hand over his face as April ignored Karev's jab and followed him down the hallway.

"I think he had it before" he confessed. "I think he's always had trouble sleeping but the shooting…" April nodded as he trailed off. "I get it" she said closing her eyes for a brief second. "I have some nights where I wake up screaming and in a blind panic, God knows what he must go through being so young…but what are you gonna do Jackson? He cannot keep going the way he's going you saw him this morning he's half dead on his feet, yesterday even Alex asked me if he was ok." She rolled her eyes as if to emphasis her point.

"He won't want to listen to me I'm his Dad" Jackson pointed out. "If I'm right and it's insomnia then I can either force him to take a sleeping pill, put him to bed for a twenty four hours and see if that helps or…"

"You can wait till it catches up with him and then have him committed like Lexie? Yeah I can see which one is the shitter option" April said nodding along. Cristina Yang passed them then heavily banging into April her head down.

"Sometimes she infuriates me…" April said shaking her head. "And then…"

"Then you see her operating with a gun to her head" Jackson said carefully.

"I'll keep an eye out when Hugo comes in after school" April said as they reached the end of the hallway.

"Thanks"

* * *

The majority of the day was spent with battling it out with Meredith over who got to scrub in on a solo surgery. Jackson wasn't a big fan of Nuro. Well he didn't have a choice but he had to admit brain surgery wasn't bad. Especially not when he finally beat out the wife to get the top spot.

And then brilliantly he fucked it up.

Some Avery he was. He had to be better than every resident, he had to prove he was deserving in the same way that Meredith Grey had to because when you had a name you had to prove it. You had to prove you were more than your parents or in his case your grandfather.

The Grey's had won again because while Derek Shepherd was cleaning up his mistake, Meredith Grey had done an open craniotomy by herself.

Somehow it was worse when he was being hugged by the nice woman whose long-time girlfriend's brain surgery he had just fucked up.

Perhaps Shepherd knew what he was thinking when he was standing in the room but he jerked his head towards the door and Jackson took it as a grateful means to an escape.

* * *

Hugo was sat in the waiting room leaning against his arm curled up into a position that might had been cute had Jackson not been so worried about him.

"Come with me" Jackson said grabbing him by the elbow and Hugo followed him without a fight. That should have been the first warning. The fact that Hugo looked dead on his feet was also a sign and Jackson dragged him into the first on call room that didn't have anyone in it which for once was a first.

"You haven't slept in God knows how long and if you don't tell me why I'm gonna bodily check you into a bed and force sleeping drugs into your system 'First Do No Harm' be damned"

Hugo watched him his eyes dull and lifeless from under the huge purple bags that seemed to be decorating them. He shrugged.

"Is it the shooting?" Jackson pressed. "Is it the nightmares? Come on kiddo you and me we've never had secrets before" he dropped his voice down an octave as Hugo ran the sleeve of his shirt under his nose.

"Hugo" he said again when he got no answer.

"I see you die" Hugo said finally eyes avoiding everywhere.

"I see you die" he continued before Jackson could finish speaking. "Everytime I look at you I see you die, and everytime I close my eyes I see you die in that OR which let's face reality that day was probable. And it would have been my fault because I was in the elevator with that shooter less than an hour before that and I told him you were a surgeon" he shook his head words tumbling out with next to no stopping them.

"So I don't sleep when you're at work because then I don't have to see you die or that was the plan until I realised that nearly a month of no sleep didn't work well so then I tried to sleep and I saw you die and then of course what's left? Hmm? Even when were in our house I hear a noise and I think it's someone coming in the door with a loaded handgun. God" he shook his head and when next he spoke he realised

"So no I don't sleep. I don't sleep at night, and I don't sleep during the day either because there's a choice between either losing sleep and knowing that your alive or falling asleep and seeing you die in that freaking operating room"

There was a split second after Hugo had finished before his face crumpled and his body seemed to curl in on itself and Jackson realised still staggered from what he was hearing that the last month had finally caught up with him.

"Come here" he said and Hugo thankfully moved into his arms curling around him and again with a horrible painful clarity Jackson realised that this was the first proper hug between him and his son since the shooting when they had clung together unsure of how they'd survived this far.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked under his breath.

Hugo shrugged looking so undeniably tired that Jackson's heart broke.

"I want to sleep and I don't want to see you dying when I do. I want to sleep and not wake up in cold sweats and I want to know when you go out to work your'll come back alive and I cannot do that when you're here all the time and I love you and your all I have left"

And with that he finally broke shoulders shaking.

Jackson buried his face into the dark hair in front of him because the fact that he and his son…that he and his real _whole fucking world_ were alive despite everything was pretty fucking incredible. Despite everything the two of them were alive and despite Charles and Reed and all the other deaths surrounding them, despite Cristina's collapse and Meredith's miscarriage they had managed to survive and that was pretty incredible.

It was some time later that they broke apart. Both of theirs eyes were suspiciously red but it didn't seem to matter to the other very much and they steadfastly ignored it.

It was some time later that Jackson finally managed to get Hugo to his car, back home to the thankfully deserted house and into bed.

It was a long time later that Hugo slipped into Jackson's bed like he'd done when he was little, depending on his Dad for comfort even in the most trying of times.

It was a long time later when Hugo Avery finally fell into a somewhat restless but nonetheless deep sleep.

And it was a long time later when April Kepner shushed Alex Karev from making to much noise because father and son were both fast asleep.

* * *

 **Next Chapter-7x06-These Arms Of Mine-In which a film crew films the residents, Hugo, Jackson and April are all on film and life slowly but surely for the three of them starts to get back on track. **


	26. 7x06-These Arms Of Mine

**Hi here is another chapter. I'm hoping to get a second chapter out but i'm giving you a warning in advance I might not make it.**

 **Also this chapter was intended to be this long and quick with the point of views changing very quickly. Bold Text is like the text shown during the episode. This episode was filmed a bit differently and therefore was a bit more tricky to write.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine just Hugo.**

 **Please Read, Review and Enjoy.**

 **(Also a big congrats to Jessie Williams for his Humanitarian Award)**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 26-7x06-These Arms Of Mine

In which a film crew films the residents for a day, Hugo, Jackson and April are all on film and life slowly but surely gets back to normal for the three of them even if it doesn't for anyone else.

* * *

'Seattle Medical Road To Recovery'was filming the following week. Hugo was sleeping more and Jackson, Derek and Alex during the week had to get up earlier in the morning than usual to use the bathroom. Meredith had a new hairstyle, Lexie had suddenly redeveloped eyeliner and even April was coming home from shifts with bags of what looked like skimpy underwear (and those were bad, bad images in Jackson's head) just in case there was a good camera angle or whatever. Even Hugo had taken to checking his hair three or four times a day just to make sure that the dark mop of hair (now shaved on the sides) was in perfect condition.

The morning of the one on one interviews, Derek, Meredith, Alex and Lexie were all on opposite shifts ensuring that they would have to change at the hospital. April gave Jackson and Hugo a lift in her car, Hugo having been given off the day at work due to a teacher's strike or whatnot Jackson wasn't sure.

Chief Webber directed the father and son of to a side room. While April was getting a head start on rounds for the day, Jackson had to get a head's start on the interview Hugo was doing. As someone who had been in that room with the shooter and now with Hugo's insomnia under control due to a strictly regulated sleeping pill arrangement and Jackson suspected the fact that he was the son of a teenage dad turned wannabe surgeon, the film crew were more than interested in interviewing him.

The Chief had allowed Jackson to meet the reporters and interviewers before going to rounds and Hugo had assured Jackson that he didn't need babysitting when it came to the tough questions.

"I survived that thing" he would say over breakfast with those impossibly old dark brown eyes, "I can answer anything after that" the bags under his eyes were still prominent but Jackson could see the determination that came with those words and it made his heart almost burst with pride just thinking about them.

April nodded grasping Hugo's shoulder in a hug and then Jackson was steering them towards the conference room. He had been assured that Hugo would be allowed to choose which questions he could answer just like the rest of them.

"Mr James" Chief Webber said opening the door.

The main interviewer was blonde and reminded Hugo of a model that had slightly gone to seed. He was enthusiastic enough reaching forwards to shake both his Dad and Hugo's hands.

"And don't worry" he said once all of the formalities were over. "Hugo controls this interview Doctor Avery and we are sensitive to his concerns, should he feel the need to stop for whatever reason that's fine, if he has a problem when it comes to we can stop rolling"

"Told ya" Hugo said with his trademark grin that he (hoped) girls found charming and that he knew his Dad found soothing in a parentally calming way.

"So Hugo" Mr James said in what he thought must have been a calming voice even if he didn't think it. "In your own words and your own time can you tell me what happened that day and how these tragic events have effected both you and your Dad's everyday life?"

* * *

 **Jackson Avery had his son Hugo when he was fifteen, Hugo Avery was working on a school project when he accidentally found himself in an OR with his father and the shooter.**

"I mean" Hugo said as they were halfway through the interview. "I'm not gonna deny it was tough, I mean we lost a good friend...Uncle Charles...he had been a big fixture in my life from a very early age and then he was just gone. And we moved house and all and that was jarring but...now I think we're in a good place."

 **Doctor Avery operated at gunpoint on Doctor Shepherd alongside Doctor Yang, his son was in the room with him and was knocked to the ground in the ensuring chaos.**

"That was hard, I think for any parent seeing their child in that situation, and I think it's something that no matter what would keep any Dad up at night."Jackson pointed out. He had known this question was coming but that didn't make it easier when it had been asked.

"It's been me and my son for a long time and we...we lost some friends that day and it had it's effect on us...but I love Hugo and Hugo loves me and would I walk away from this job in a second if I thought that it could make things better for him but...I suppose...he knows I'm a surgeon and he knows what comes with it. And now...now it's hard I'm not gonna debate that but...it's getting better"

 **Doctor Kepner was also in the OR with Doctor Avery with the shooter she has also lost a friend to the gunman, since the shooting she, Doctor Avery and Mr Avery have moved in Doctor Grey** **'** **s house.**

"It's a bit of a mess...we share the house with some of our other residents and were all friends, everyone in that house was in the hospital that day and I kinda think it creates a bond...We work very long hours and I think it helps coming home to someone who understands what that's like"

 **Doctor Kepner and Doctor Avery are the last two of their class from the transfer from Mercy West Hospital. Their other colleges were killed in the shooting.**

"Yeah April and I are good friends...we were friends before the shooting but I think being the last two standing..." Jackson struggled to swallow for a second thinking hard.

"I think that's made us best friends. I think that she's great with Hugo. Hugo likes her as well and it's nice...having someone that knows you since your intern day...here it's all kinda been cobbled together. The relationships are all still pretty new"

"Yeah..." April said grinning as she answered the question. "Jackson and I are really good friends and since Charlie and Reed..."her smile faltered for a second before she shook her head. "We've survived a horrific event and it's made us closer and stronger and I think that's only a good thing, and Hugo..." she smiled again this time more genuine. "Hugo is a great kid and I like the fact that he's around all the time. We see so much death and gloom and doom that it's nice to see a friendly face once in a while"

"Yeah Dad and April are like best friends" Hugo said. It was the final question and his very skin was beginning to itch when it came to the events reliving that day. "It's kinda strange actually cause he didn't mention her all that much when he started...i think she was just kinda in the background for him but now there really good friends...i like April, she's nice and she asks me things and like really wants to know the answer to them..."

"It's been tough" Jackson said finally once the interviews had come to a close.

"I won't deny that, It's been hard, we've buried some really good friends and some really good surgeons and operating like that...that was...i don't ever want to have to do that again in my entire career and...you know as a parent and as a resident I can only hope things will be ok..."

* * *

"Those weren't interviews" Alex Karev said later that day in the lounge eating pizza with a contemptuous glare. "Those were brutal interrogations. That was like reliving all of it over and over again and camera's shoved in your faces as you explain everything over and over again"

"Police interviews were a bit like that" April said chewing her crust bitterly. "I remember. They tried to be sympathetic and your head just hurts...i was sick during mine I remember"

"Lovely" Cristina said pulling a face. "I don't remember mine"

"They had some woman in with me" Hugo said breaking the awkward silence. He had stayed for dinner in the Resident's lounge and was lounging in a chair next to his Dad, his pizza loose in his hand.

"I remember" Jackson said softly. "They wanted to speak to me alone and you had to have someone in the room with you while you gave the testimony. I would have rang your grandma but she couldn't make airports move"

There was a long pause. Meredith took another bite of pizza. "Hard to believe that people are gonna watch this and call it TV"

There was another long pause.

"Sod it" Alex said finally. "We're off in twenty minutes who wants to get a drink?"

That went down to an unamused yes.

"No" Jackson said with an unamused expression at the look on Hugo's face, April sniggered. "You have school in the morning...and you're in a room with six doctors who have all cleaned up their fair share of teenage vomit"

"You people are no fun" Hugo groaned.

"No" Meredith said with another piercing look at the quiet Cristina Yang who hadn't ate anything since they'd ordered in.

"Were surgeons"

* * *

 **And on that note, I'll leave you alone.**

 **Next Chapter-7x07-That's Me Trying-As Jackson tries to get certified for Trauma, Hugo watches the show with glee and Owen Hunt sees more than he lets on when it comes to the father and son duo. (First Owen Point of View) **


	27. 7x07-That's Me Trying

**Hi so here is the second chapter I promised and actually had the time to write which is a big thing for me so...yay...**

 **This chapter does have the first Owen's point of view. As I character I actually quite like Owen but I didn't like him with Cristina. Their relationship was very toxic and more to the point I think Meredith disliking him made the relationship even worse. So I like Owen but I by far like him more with Amelia who I adore so...And from a writing perspective Owen was easy for me to get into his head, far more so than a few other character's I've tried.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please read and review.**

 **I am going on holiday so this will be the last update for a while but rest assured I will return and grant you another chapter.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 27-7x07-That's Me Trying

As Jackson tries to get certified for Trauma, Hugo watches the show with glee and Owen Hunt realises a few things about the father and son duo. (First Owen's Point of View)

* * *

Jackson wasn't sure what specialty he was going to choose but he was pretty sure it wasn't going to be trauma. He had nothing against Owen Hunt. He had nothing against the surgeon, he liked him, he admired him but he didn't want to be him. He didn't want to be in trauma. He also didn't want to go into Cardio anymore. There was something about what had happened in that OR with Cristina and Derek that had turned him off about the thought of operating on hearts forever.

Certification therefore was like a walk in the park. They had done a General one and Trauma was a specialty that they dealt with every day in the ER. He supposed that it was a necessary qualification but he had buried enough people to not want anything to do with it.

And that was why he was getting utterly irritated saving mannequins while the rain was pouring down in droves. April was working furiously in silence while Alex bitched in moments. Meredith had disappeared halfway through the certification and Cristina hadn't even bothered to show up instead working with Doctor Altman minding a patient probably Jackson thought grumbling...in the warmth with access to coffee.

Then suddenly there was shelter from the rain and converse in front of his feet.

Oh good. Hugo was here from school.

"Good Day?" Jackson asked shifting so he could see past Hugo's feet.

"Not really...at least not until I came and saw this...this is a beautiful moment for me" Hugo said grinning. Under normal circumstances Jackson would feel better about Hugo smiling like he normally would but now he was dripping wet, irritated, feeling utterly victimised and in need of warmth, coffee and something to chase away the bad memories that this day was bringing up for him.

At least while he had been worrying himself stupid about Hugo he wasn't focusing on the fact that the nightmares he was suffering from were equally horrific and all the more frightening. At least that way he could pretend that stuff like this didn't make him terrified, that everytime the double doors opened he was half expecting the shooter to come out of them gun raised ordering them to stop what they were doing.

"Hugo" Doctor Hunt said coming up and smiling politely. As far as Doctor's went, Owen Hunt was the one that Hugo had far less interaction with. Doctor Hunt was almost always busy with some incoming trauma and even though he had been in that room with Hugo during the shooting there had been other things more important than a get together at the time.

"If you don't mind moving to the side while your Dad tries to fix a spleen injury otherwise you might be stepping in the blood that's leaking from his patient.

Hugo took in Doctor Hunt's almost gleeful tone and looked down at the doll that was at his feet before catching his father's eyes.

"Fuck it" Jackson muttered finally. "I'm done" he said standing up and ignoring Hunt's calls to come back and finish what he started.

"Well shit" Hugo said finally nearly dropping the umbrella and almost catching Alex Karev in the eye with the pointy end. He chewed his bottom lip for a second catching Doctor Hunt's stunned expression.

"I'm gonna go and deal with that" he said finally pointing in the direction of his Dad and sidestepping another irritated jab from Alex.

* * *

His Dad was in the locker room changing into a fresh pair of scrubs and looking irritated.

"You Ok?" Hugo asked carefully scuffing the toe of his white converse against the floor.

"Fine" Jackson said shortly. "Just wet and board and sick of people like Hunt thinking they know best. I mean" he muttered under his breath and he shoved his shirt over his head, "I was practically holding his freaking girlfriend's hand in there wasn't I...while my best friend was practically dead upstairs...sorry..." he said when he saw Hugo's slight flinch at the mention of Charles name.

"It's been a long day" Jackson said rolling his eyes and stretching in order to relieve some of the kinks in his back "And it hasn't even started yet". Hugo stared at him for a stretch of a second before nodding and taking the lie at face value rather than pressing on the open wound.

"You wanna get some coffee before you go trolling for cases and listen to how my day went?" he asked carefully. Jackson breathed a sigh of relief and nodded wrapping one hand around his son's shoulders and propelling him out the door and around the corner.

"That sounds like a good plan"he said. And if Hugo saw his hands shaking when he thought of how scared Charles might have been as he was bleeding out or how unaware Reed was when that bullet entered her brain then his son did a better job of pretending he was ignorant than Jackson ever would.

He ruffled Hugo's hair, shaved on the sides now and now piled mostly on the top. It was something that Hugo had done on his way home from school one day after the shooting, after Jackson had managed to get him to sleep probably. It showed off his cheekbones and the fact that he had lost weight, not in an overt way but in a way that Jackson knew because he had intimate knowledge of what Hugo ate and his eating patterns. That and April had also started watching Hugo like a little red-headed hawk.

* * *

For the most part the day went...well...Jackson caught up on rounds and charts and managed to score himself a vascular surgery which was rare but good for his hours. He even managed to get his shit together in time for him to leave early Hugo having stayed in order to catch a lift home.

"I think I might cook" Jackson said thoughtfully as they walked down the corridors together, Hugo shot him a rather alarmed look that seemed to speak volumes.

"You?" he asked carefully thankful his voice didn't betray the horror.

"I can cook" Jackson said looking irritable.

"April can cook" Hugo said grinning. "And she cooks for an Army. Chances are she's left some of her lasagne at home in the fridge"

"Thank God for April" Jackson said grinning as Hugo grinned back.

And then the moment was interrupted by Owen Hunt stalking down the corridor looking very much like the man who was at war. Hugo stared even as his Dad sighed impatiently.

"Avery" he said looking furious "You don't get to quit"

There was a long pause in which Jackson wished for a split second that he wasn't having this conversation with Hugo watching him with his eyes that seemed to pick up on more than what was strictly there. He wished that he was back in his old house with Charles and Hugo bitching about the Seattle Grace Residents and how unfair they were when it came to their attitudes.

"Two of my friends died" he said finally feeling... _something_...bubble up inside him making him feel like he was almost going to scream. "I lost friends that day, I nearly lost my son that day so I think that I have enough trauma hours in that OR with Yang, April, Meredith screaming on the floor and a gun waved around don't you?"

He made to sidestep Owen Hunt but the man resolutely stood in his way pushing him back so that his back was against the wall.

"I lost friends too. More than you have" he hissed under his breath and the pain in which he spoke was enough to stop Jackson in his tracks. "And I never...never...used their deaths as I reason to quit"

There was a long pause. "Go" Hugo said finally. "Go and finish your certification I can wait for a bit...April can give me a lift home"

"Yeah she won" Owen said looking distracted. "Nearly ran me over trying to save her patients but she's in a good mood"

Jackson grinned unable to stop himself. April deserved a break despite everything she'd been through this year,

Hugo nodded and then slinked away winking in his Dad's direction.

* * *

As Avery was working his way through the cards and Hugo was chatting with a still giggling April Owen was currently torn between waiting for Cristina and watching the father and son duo.

A combination of both medical and military training ensured that Owen could keep a watch on both things. Hugo Avery was...well interesting. Owen had never really considered the concept of children while he'd been overseas and now he was back the thought...well...was kinda growing on him despite the fact that Cristina didn't seem to want to discuss anything anymore.

But Hugo Avery was an interesting factor. When Owen had been fifteen he and Nathen had been discussing medical school and trying to outscore each other on every test, (he changed that thought quickly because thinking about Nathen hurt too much) hell he couldn't understand the desire at that age to keep a baby when your whole life was ahead of you. All he had wanted to do was save the world and that plan had come crashing down around him spectacularly.

And now after that shooting...after Cristina and Jackson and Meredith with the blood dripping down her legs and April trying to keep the both of them sane in that room...Hugo Avery had walked directly into the crossfire for his father and Owen had to admit watching a thirteen year old get thrown across the room even if he was bleeding was something that he hadn't anticipated.

The kid was however for the most part fine, Owen didn't have to worry about him on top of all the other people in the room. He supposed that he was the one that had come out personally least affected because in the harsh light he had seen worse. Meredith had thrown herself into her marriage and he knew her need to perhaps prove she could have a baby, Cristina was like a broken doll, April was triumphing in great strides and even the kid seemed to be sleeping more. And that just left Avery. He was most certainly not coping. He had thrown so much into his son that he had practically ignored all his own issues and now they were peaking. Jackson Avery was most certainly not ok.

And judging by the look on Hugo's face and the way he's eyes kept drifting to his father's, the kid knew it.

* * *

 **Next Chapter-7x08-Something's Gotta Give-In which Cristina quits, Meredith is snappy at everyone and everything, Alex goes to far, Jackson fights for the one friend he has left, Hugo lets April cry on his shoulder, their is a kickass party and a little bonding moment between Jackson, Hugo and April.**

 **And let me know what you think. **


	28. 7x08-Something's Gotta Give

**Hi so here is another chapter, It took me a long time to get back into the swing of writing and therefore this chapter was delayed.**

 **I have nothing against Cristina and the PTSD arc, I don't like the character for I do think she's mean and some of her jokes actually remind me of bullying but I do like the actress and I do think the show has changed since she's been off it. This is just Hugo's feelings from the perspective of a misunderstood kid who was also in that OR. So keep that in mind.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please read and review.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 28-7x08-Somehting's Gotta Give

In which Cristina quits, Meredith is snappy at everything and everyone, Alex goes too far, Jackson fights for the one friend he has left, Hugo let's April cry a little on his shoulder (and doesn't really know what to do), there is a kickass party and a pretty sweet bonding moment between Jackson, April and Hugo.

* * *

Cristina Yang had quit.

The aftershocks of this decision had dominated the house for weeks on end. Meredith was snapping at everyone including her husband who was constantly apologising for her behaviour with that little look he would shoot everyone but Jackson knew that he too couldn't comprehend that Cristina had quit. April and Lexie had taken to gossiping together in the bathroom about what this meant and Alex had taken to grabbing the surgeries that Yang would have missed out on with a quiet skill that Jackson would not had thought he had in him.

The whole hospital was agog with the news but none so more than when a nurse confirmed that on top of the helipad Cristina Yang had blamed Meredith Grey claiming that she had only saved Derek because Meredith had asked her and wouldn't have done so if she hadn't.

This was such a lie that Jackson couldn't help but exchanged a look with a horror stuck April. They were Doctor's, hell they were Surgeons and they fixed people up regardless of who they were. If Cristina Yang had gone into that OR because it was Meredith's husband then Jackson didn't know what kind of world they were living in.

Hugo and him meanwhile had taken to walking around the house they lived in without speaking of Cristina Yang. Hugo seemed to have an opinion and was rather ashamed of it once it was spoken but defiant nonetheless. He thought (he told Jackson privately) that Cristina Yang was an idiot who would regret the decision to throw away surgery for the rest of her life.

"You were in that room too" he said quietly sat on Jackson's bed the only place that right now seemed to guarantee privacy. "You were in that room with a gun at my head and you still managed to complete Derek's surgery. I don't know why she should be different. Meredith begged for her husband's life she did nothing Owen Hunt wouldn't have done and yet he seems to be miffed with her as well. Alex was going around with a bullet under his skin and Lexie and Mark..." he makes a little gesture as if he doesn't understand what's going on with the plastic surgeon and the resident and indeed Jackson didn't know either.

"You and April seem to be the only sane ones here"he said finally.

* * *

A part of Jackson wanted to be glad that April was flourishing since the shooting. She had pulled herself together with a remarkable intensity that would have impressed anyone and had helped Jackson with Hugo without even being asked. She had fed him and wished him well and texted him whenever he had a test to wish him look. Indeed the whole house seemed to help Hugo when it came to his schoolwork. Some of the best nights involved Lexie, Derek, Jackson, April, Alex and Meredith pouring over Hugo's chemistry books and trying to work out problems they had worked out so long ago when studying to become Surgeons seems so far away.

Jackson just wished he could say the same for him. Ever since Hugo had managed to smile in the morning and sleep through the night without waking up in a cold sweat Jackson found that he couldn't do the same. He had been so buried in protecting Hugo from whatever was keeping him up at night that he had never given any thought about what to do when it came himself. He had lost Charles, had nearly lost Hugo and still had never dealt with his own grief. And still he didn't want to because if Jackson tackled that then he knew that he wouldn't be able to cope with that. Especially not after he had given so much away to Owen Hunt the day of the trauma verification.

The day following that ordeal, the day after Teddy Altman had confirmed Cristina Yang had quit the hospital was introduce to Doctor Robert Stark, a brilliant paediatric surgeon who had been partial responsible for more free health care being given to the poorer children of America and other countries, who had done countless work without being paid and was no Arizona Robbins when it came to cheer. Even though he still had one more paediatric rotation one his service before he specialised and that he didn't like peeds on principal, Jackson couldn't help but admit he was looking forwards to meeting the man.

There was some sort of party on that night at Cristina and Owen's place and Derek, who finished early apparently had offered to pick Hugo up at school and take him till Jackson could meet him. Jackson had no idea what Derek could want with Hugo in a car but the man was obsessed with getting Cristina back to work. Also Jackson knew that the man hadn't spent much time with Hugo since the shooting and therefore was more than wary, but Doctor Shepherd was a consummate professional (if you could get over the whole sleeping with Meredith while she was an intern) and would at least (now he hoped) drive responsibly.

He on the other hand had bigger problems. Another patient of Doctor Bailey's had died, Altman was obsessed with Yang and he believed April was trying to get into Alex's pants despite the fact that she was supposedly a virgin. Jackson didn't know whether to laugh or be disgusted.

* * *

Hugo for the most part had been silent at the party. Derek had dropped him off, had chatted about everything and nothing like usual and then had left him while he went to sort out Cristina and had left him with Callie who Hugo didn't know that well and had apparently cut off all her hair.

"Hey if you want a beer you should take one" Callie told him, she sounded like she'd been in the wine all afternoon and Jackson could see that the bin was full of two empty wine bottles and she was halfway through a third. "I shouldn't be encouraging underage drinking but you're in a room full of Doctors so help yourself if you want"and she disappeared off again in the direction of Mark who had arrived and threw Hugo a wink.

Well...if he was offered. He was nearly fourteen he wasn't going to sit here and pretend to be naïve. Alcohol was a potent power for everyone and anyhow. He knew he wouldn't finish it.

Dependant on who arrived first his Dad or April or even Meredith, he knew he wouldn't finish it. He could see Mark eyeing him balefully now.

It was his Dad who staggered through the loft door. Hugo had only had half the beer Callie had offered him and she was half lying, half sitting on Mark Sloan's lap as if was.

His Dad shot him a look but considering he looked exhausted he didn't press the matter. Hugo frowned, his Dad was once again pretending that he was sleeping at night, he was once again pretending that he was ok with what was happening, he was once again pretending that everything was ok. Hell Hugo had a beer next to him and his father wasn't reacting with his usual lecture about the dangers of alcohol. Hugo knew that something was wrong...and that was before April stepped in desperately trying not to cry.

* * *

Jackson had been so tired he hadn't even had the time to scowl at the fact that Callie had given Hugo a beer.

"Dad" Hugo said pulling Jackson out of his thoughts and forcing him to pay attention. Jackson turned and whatever he was going to say died in his throat.

April was coming up the stairs shaking. She was clearly near tears and Owen Hunt was trying to comfort her without knowing what to do. Jackson moved suddenly leaving Hugo in the kitchen and came across the room.

"Hey" he said gently like he was talking to a scalded cat. April looked at him with wide eyes and shaking hands and Jackson pulled her into his arms. She was the only friend he had left and God knows a good female influence in the life of his motherless son.

"Come on April" he said pulling her away from Owen and into the kitchen. Hugo pressed a glass of scotch into his hand and Jackson passed it to April who downed it in two great gulps as if she was gasping for breath.

"Sorry" she said breathing heavily and wiping her eyes on the back of her hand.

"What happened?" Jackson asked thinking that he knew what the answer was going to be. "Alex...err...he..." and she trailed off sobbing slightly in her hand.

"Did he touch you?" Hugo asked looking horrified and Jackson shot his son a horrified glance before turning to April. She shook her head. "No...he...i'm a virgin and he knows that and he wasn't going to stop...i wanted him to kiss me but..."she shook her head and then dissolved into sobs again.

Jackson shared another horrified glance with Hugo but he was saved the dilemma of thinking what to say to his oldest friend, the last friend he had left in this place, the woman who had stepped up without even asking to be an almost mother to his son and still never attempting to be his real birth mother, the girl who had been in that OR with him who had watched him and held him when the worst was over, because at that moment Alex Karev had walked through the door and Jackson was filled with such a sense of burning anger that he didn't think about anything other than walking across the room at a steady pace and punching Alex Karev in the face until Mark Sloan and Owen Hunt pulled him off, his hand and knuckles bruised and Alex's nose and eye black, blood dripping down his chin.

"Outside" Mark Sloan hissed at him, pushing him down the stairs and Jackson followed tired, angry and desperately trying not to cry.

* * *

Hugo watched as Mark led his Dad out the door. "Shit" he said ignoring April or at least until she cried a little into her hands. "I'm, sorry" he apologised but April shook her head.

"I'm sorry" she confessed.

"You must think I'm an idiot"

"Don't be stupid" Hugo said blushing red. He couldn't think that what had happened to April made her an idiot. Whatever had happened to Alex he shouldn't have treated April like that. He might be thirteen, nearing fourteen but he wasn't an idiot.

He leaned forwards closing his hand around April's and allowing her to lean a little on her shoulder if she wanted to. She did so and Hugo allowed himself that small victory. The two of them sat there tired and weary to their bones over the day's events.

"Your Dad's not doing ok is he?" April asked finally.

"No" Hugo said finally admitting what was becoming more and more clear by the day.

"Don't worry" he said finally gritting his teeth together with determination. "I'm gonna fix it"

And he would if that was the last thing he did. He would fix his father, but the events of that horrible day behind them and finally move on with his life as all survivors do. Because that was Hugo. He was a survivor and nobody he thought grimly would say less of him.

* * *

 **Next Chapter-7x09-Slow Night, So Long-A car accident strikes an emotional chord with Jackson as he finally comes to terms with the shooting and the loss of his best friend. **


	29. 7x09-Slow Night, So Long

**Hi so here is another chapter. I am giving you warning that another chapter in season 7 will be AU and it's coming up now so fair warning.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine but Hugo.**

 **Please Read and Review and let me know what you think.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 29-7x09-Slow Night, So Long

A car accident strikes an emotional cord in Jackson as he finally comes to terms with the shooting and the loss of his best friend.

* * *

They were on the night shift. The idea of the 'Night Shift' was terrifying for all of them. They spent the entire day in bed, Jackson with an uneasy sleep constantly aware of both his nightmare's (that consistently seemed to plague him.) They had developed from the dreams of Hugo being shot time after time and now had changed to Charles being shot over again. Either way, both nightmares ensured that he was waking up in the middle of the night and often screaming.

The ending was that April, Lexie or Hugo woke him up and that he pretended that nothing was wrong even if nobody believed it and everyone could tell that he was lying through his teeth. The ending was that he could still go into work even though Owen was watching him with every surgery and every patient and the rest of the side effects that came from working in the hospital with an increasing concern Jackson was hoping that Cristina would distract him long enough for Jackson to be able to leave the room. Hugo had survived this thing both mentally and physically it seemed and therefore Jackson was able to sleep at night for at least one or two hours even if he woke up still seeing his best friend's brains splattered against the walls.

Therefore the night shift where everything was dark and strange cases were constantly brought into the ER was probably the best distraction for all of them. Meredith was still furious over Cristina's decision to quit, Owen was still furious at Meredith for (Jackson personally suspected) putting both herself and Cristina in the firing line. Alex was becoming louder and louder, April more withdrawn though she seemed to handle living with Karev simply by walking out the room whenever he entered.

This was getting tiring as she sometimes did it in the middle of cooking and Jackson nine times out ten had to step in and save whatever she was doing with no idea how he was doing it.

His knuckles were still bruised but on the plus side he could still operate. He took Alex Karev bitterly as another cross to bear on his way into work still seeing Charles's dark blank eyes and leaving Hugo looking tired and worried in bed watching Harry Potter and clutching a mug of coffee from the pot that April had so thoughtfully prepared before she forced them all to eat a bacon sandwich. Jackson had took the sandwich, warned Hugo he better be asleep before midnight and congratulated Doctor Shepherd on wining the research grant. With the competition on for Chief Resident and Meredith Grey out of the running due to her relationship both with Derek and with her mother there was an unspoken competition in the air to see who he would pick to join him on the project.

He and Lexie were in the ER tonight and Owen was leaving, exhaustion and the fact that It was becoming clear that he didn't know what he was going home too.

"Avery" he said and Jackson knew instantly that this was another speech in which Owen tried to get him to talk to someone and Jackson pretended not to listen. He had done his mandatory counselling he wasn't in the mood for anything more, he wasn't in the mood to be looked at like Lexie and Meredith and Cristina when the nurses had nothing better to do but gossip. He didn't have the time, the patience, the inclination or the temper. He was an Avery, he knew.

"How's the hand?" was all that was asked. Jackson paused. He had a feeling that Owen had known exactly why he'd punched out Alex and had had a hand in the fact that Jackson hadn't been disciplined.

"Bruised, nothing more" was all Jackson said. He didn't want to elaborate on the smarting ache he still felt in his knuckles or the burning sense of satisfaction that came with punching Alex Karev's face in. Owen carefully didn't elaborate.

"Have you spoken to someone?" he asked turning to look at him. Another day perhaps Jackson would come to admire the fact that Owen Hunt looked people in the eye while either giving them bad news or asking them personal questions.

"Don't need to sir" he said finally. God Hunt had very wide blue eyes. They seemed to stare at you with a horrible sense of familiarity.

"Avery speak to someone" he said flatly "Weather it's me, or Kepner or even Sloan just speak to someone, I don't care when or how just speak to someone"

He was gone with a quick grimace that could have passed for a smile before Jackson could form a reply.

* * *

The incoming trauma resulted in two boys aged fifteen and seventeen. The seventeen year old had clearly took out his younger brother in their parent's car when something had gone wrong. The younger brother Jackson knew was fucked. If he survived the OR then he would lose both his legs above the knee, his left arm below the elbow and most of the movement in his right arm due to a crushed shoulder injury.

The older brother would probably survive once they got him to the OR and if they worked (and by they he really meant Hunt) their asses off to clear the mess that had occurred.

It reminded Jackson a little bit of Hugo. Two stupid kids that had gone out and thought they were invincible. It reminded him a bit of him and Charles. Either way both scenario's made him shake at little inside.

It was why he sent Lexie to update the parents, It was why he told her what it meant to lose a brother, she had lost a mother and had nearly lost and gained Meredith in equal measure not to mention her own father (if the rumours were true). Lexie took the words he was saying at face measure and never tried to judge him for more. Jackson hoped that he she wouldn't pry and she didn't. It was hard to put into words the loss of Charles, hard to put into words what living without the man that had accepted him and liked him and been fun to be hang out with was like.

The loss of Charles was something that Jackson knew he would never be able to get over so what was the point in talking about it. It hadn't been his fault and yet he still felt guilty. He hadn't been there but Charles had died all alone without knowing whether or not his friends were alive and had become an afterthought at least to Jackson and April who had known that Reed was dead but had been so happy to be alive.

"You should go home to Hugo" Lexie said quietly "Let's get some pizza and have pizza for breakfast"

Jackson grinned, Hugo would love that.

"Your gonna be ok" Lexie said gently her voice gentle but brooking no argument. "Were all gonna be ok"

Jackson didn't know if he believed her. He personally didn't think anything would be ok again but somehow looking at the boy that had lost his best friend and his brother in one swoop without knowing it. He'd been screaming in pain and when he woke up he'd be confronted with the news that his actions had devastated his family for the rest of his life. Charles had not been his fault but Jackson still missed him and he didn't think that empty feeling was never going to go away despite was Lexie was saying about them all going through this.

Somehow this brother was going to live the rest of his life without his best friend.

And somehow Jackson was going to have to find a way to live his life without his.

* * *

 **Next Chapter-7x10-Adrift And At Peace-Derek takes Cristina out on a fishing trip, Jackson, Lexie and April compete to gain a special prize on the surgical floor and Hugo goes back to school only to discover a classmate is acting strange and making him uncomfortable. **


	30. 7x10-Adrift And At Peace

**Hi so here is another chapter, this is short because it does lead directly into the next episode. The next chapter is a massively AU and I think you all know why however I can promise that nobody isn't hurt.**

 **Just for the massively AU Chapter expect lots of hurt comfort and family fluff as well as the introduction of a couple of new characters.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review. **

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 30-7x10-Adrift And At Peace

Derek takes Cristina out on a fishing trip, Jackson, Lexie and April compete to gain a special prize on the surgical floor and Hugo goes back to school only to discover a classmate is acting strange and making him uncomfortable.

* * *

Hugo was going back to school. Well that wasn't exactly true, by the time had shooting had been over the summer vacation had been thrown around and then he was fourteen and heading towards High School. Hell the first week had been fine. Hell the second week had been fine. The new school was big but not as big as the hospital and Hugo didn't know if he was imagining it but he thought that his Dad and April had scheduled some sort of plan in which one of them was home and he didn't have to cook his own dinner.

All in all for two weeks life was good and Hugo was remarkable pleased that for the first few weeks he wasn't flinching when it came to all those locker slams. As it turned out he still managed to retain his friends from his old class, despite the fact that he was one of the youngest in the class and he managed to keep off any bullies or jocks radar.

However there was one student that made him feel uncomfortable. There was a red headed boy that Hugo didn't know the year above him and while he was a year older than Hugo then he knew him only because he knew that he had a locker three doors down from him.

On the plus side there was a blonde haired girl next to his locker that smiled at him when she came to his locker and whenever they ran into each other. Just because the red headed boy who was constantly rushing through the hallways avoiding Jocks at every turn was running away time and time again, Hugo knew that something was wrong he had that feeling, the same unknown feeling that he'd had the day the hospital had been shot to shit and back. It had been nearly six months, he had spent three of them at home with his Dad and as time went by the other three months in school slowly remembering not to flinch when it came to the door slamming or something banging in the distance.

Some things however had never changed. Cristina was still pretending that she wasn't a doctor much to (Hugo could tell) the exasperation of everyone and anyone who knew her and one morning as April was brewing coffee and fixing Hugo a bacon sandwich Derek came down looking cheerful with a confused and sleep deprived Meredith following her husband in her dressing gown.

"Fishing?" she said looking like Derek had just agreed to dance naked out of a cake with three can can dancers. "You're taking Cristina fishing?"

April nearly dropped her mug on the floor, Hugo coughed up a mouthful of bacon. "Fishing?" April said in a tone that mirrored Meredith and with much the same look of surprise on her face. "Fishing? You're taking Cristina Yang fishing? In the woods? On a lake? In a boat?"

Derek took one look from April's shocked face to Hugo who knew surprised was probably the politest expression on his face right about now, to his wife who was regarding him as if she had deep concerns for his life and sanity and rolled his eyes.

"It will be fun, she'll enjoy it, eventually"

"There goes a brave, brave man" Hugo deadpanned. "Into the unknown leaving behind a wife and family who might never see him again..."

"Shut up" Derek could be heard yelling and both Meredith, Hugo and April hide their smirks behind their coffee cups.

* * *

School was as boring as ever if it wasn't for the red headed boy whose name Hugo found out was Todd. The girl who smiled at him whenever he was at his locker was called Charlotte and the rest of the day carried on as normal. Hugo fired off a text to his Dad to tell him Cristina was fishing with Derek but didn't get a reply as was the norm whenever he was at work and probably buried elbow deep in someone's kidneys.

By the time he got home it appeared that Derek still had'nt come home from his fishing trip and Meredith who was apparently home early was prowling the kitchen. Hugo had never really been alone with Meredith and while she was nice to him she wasn't what one would call warm. There had been he knew people that she liked better living in this house than him, April and his father and he knew that it showed in some places.

"It wasn't your fault you know" he said carefully helping himself to a cookie. Meredith jumped as if he had shattered something and then glared.

"Cristina, it wasn't your fault" Hugo replied dogging on despite everything. "You would have done the same if it were Owen and you both would have done the same if it was a stranger, she knows that it's what you both signed up for when you took the oath" he shrugs. Meredith stared at him as if he'd just given her a dead cat. Hugo took a moment to think it from Meredith's perspective, she was torn between the man that she loved and the friend that had stood by her when the love of her life had broken her heart into pieces, and she had chosen her husband as she should have done and now she had a best friend that had been destroyed by what had happened and she didn't know what to do. For the daughter of Ellis Grey that must have been horrible.

Meredith gave him another long look. "How much do you know?" she asked finally. Hugo shrugged. "Enough" he said finally. Meredith nodded. "I'm smart you know" he said grinning and then finally and without warning she cracked a smile back at him. "I know" she said grinning. "I've noticed"

Meredith smiling was a rare thing now and Hugo had to admire how much it changed her face she looked years younger, less like the drawn out ghost she'd become since the shooting.

"Derek's back" she said finally breaking the spell. The door opened and the house was assaulted by the strong smell of fish. Hugo gagged into his milk. "Tell me that's not dinner" he said finally.

Meredith snorted. "No" she said grinning. "That's surgery practice"

Hugo sniggered as she left the room and put the strange events and the red headed boy out of his mind for the time being, he had survived the worst to worry over something he couldn't prove beyond his instincts. Besides lightening never struck twice. He decided he didn't need to worry about school.

Oh if he hadn't.

* * *

 **Next Chapter-7x11-Disarm-As the hospital prepares for something terrible, Jackson and April are both filled with separate terror about Hugo as baby Avery fights to survive another catastrophe.**

 **Let me know what you think. **


	31. 7x11-Disarm

**Hi so here is another chapter, this one is a bit shorter than the previous shooting and of course less dramatic mainly because I couldn't write another chapter like Death and All his Friends. Also this chapter was an introduction to Aidan Blackwood and Charlotte Winters who are Hugo's friends. 31 Chapters later I realised Hugo needed friends.**

 **Again this is less dramatic than the other shooting. Hugo kinda at this point knows what to do if you like, he knows to get some cover and he lives in a house full of surgeons and therefore kinda keeps the injury together. Also I think this was less traumatic for Hugo because he knew where his Dad was and reacted on instinct knowing his Dad was safe.**

 **Trigger Warnings-School Shooting.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine but Hugo, Charlotte and Aidan.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 31-7x11-Disarm

As the hospital to prepares for something terrible both April and Jackson are filled with fear for Hugo and as baby Avery fights to survive another catastrophe.

* * *

Hugo had been in the hallway when it happened. Hell he hadn't even been in the hallway when it had happened, in the years to come he wouldn't honestly be able to say where he was or who he was with bar the obvious. He'd been walking towards his locker and then the first shot had rung out that much he did know.

If he'd been expecting to freeze up thinking about the Hospital shooting nearly six months ago (and God had it been that long?) he might have been surprised. Right now however as his fellow students began to scream and glass went flying everywhere he remained perfectly calm.

Hugo ducked when the glass separating the hallways here he was and where the shooter was obviously shooting from. He swore under his breath as pain hit his face and he realised that the glass shards had scratched him down from the side of the face and the side of his hand and arm. He dropped his bag and breathed heavily.

Ok so it wasn't the same as the Hospital shooting. He swallowed down the bile and thought for a split second. This wasn't the same he realised as the last time he'd been facing a gun. His Dad wasn't here Hugo realised. If he survived this he would probably think it was funny. Not funny in the ha, ha sense but funny that all it took was his father in the room with him for a dangerous situation to go from manageable to complete unbearable.

He scrabbled around ducking against the wall and breathing. Screaming and shots were coming from the hallway that the shattered door was vainly protecting him from. He reached for his phone. The entire hospital would be put on standby when this came through and he didn't want a classmate dying because his father was unable to operate due to fear.

 _"_ _Am alive and ok, trying to get out will meet you at hospital not hurt_ _"_ he fired off the text to his father and then because for some reason the one thought that he could think of was that desperate way April had hugged him before the shooter had gone looking for Derek and she'd told him to run. He sent another text to her and then breathed again his hands only just beginning to tremble as the reality of the situation sunk in. He closed his eyes and then forced his head a little bit through the window before ducking it down again. It was the red headed boy and he was swinging the gun across the hallway with a manic look on his face. Hugo didn't look at the blood splattered across the lockers and he carefully didn't look for any dead bodies.

There was a thudding noise and he turned around to see the blonde girl that shared the locker next to him, Charlotte. She was whimpering and it wasn't that difficult for Hugo to see why. She was clutching her upper thigh. Blood was soaking through the jeans she was wearing staining them a different colour, most of her blonde hair was covering her face but Hugo was shocked to see what looked like a huge piece of glass sticking out of her bloody thigh.

Charlotte looked up and caught his eye and Hugo moved ducking again as another shot rang out. "Hey Charlotte" he said remembering what Owen had said at that trauma certification about talking to the patient keeps them calm.

"Hugo my leg" she said her whole petite frame shaking. "Yeah" Hugo said breathing hard because holy shit that was a lot of blood. "Ok" the shooting had stopped but Hugo knew that this didn't mean anything. He knew that from experience. "Ok Charlotte let's get the hell out of here"

Charlotte bit her lip as Hugo took her arm. They crouched her leg dragging across the floor to avoid being seen until they reached the door. Finally they got the door and out into the courtyard. Students were milling everywhere and it was more chaotic outside than it had been inside where everything had been still and slow and silent.

Charlotte wrapped both hands around the glass shards and then pulled it out in one swoop. "Shit" Hugo cried. "I don't think that you should have done that, my Dad's a surgeon and I don't think that you're supposed to yank it out without you know...an ER team"

Charlotte shot him a look biting her bottom lip against the pain. Hugo looked around and then breathed a sigh of relief. Aidan Blackwood was also out. Aidan was Hugo's best friend from Junior High and while they had different classes they were still close. Aidan who believed it was polite to be twenty minutes late to everything had probably not even been in the building.

"Shit" he said coming over and raking a hand through his blonde hair. "Winters what the hell? Hugo?" he said his eyes darting from Hugo to Charlotte back and forth. Hugo ignored him. Blood was still staining Charlotte's jeans and he did the only thing he could think of at the time and stuck his finger in where the glass had hit.

When he looked back up, both Charlotte and Aidan were looking at him as if he had suddenly broken out into a dance. "Yeah" Aidan said wrinkling his nose. "I'm gonna go get a professional"

* * *

The second the shooting had broken out on the news Jackson had rang Hugo, his heart was pounding. The panic over the shooting in the hospital was nothing compared to this one. This was Hugo all alone and scared and a gunman who probably wasn't fixed on specific targets but this time more general. And Hugo was more in the crossfire.

Richard was trying to find all the staff, trying to keep everyone together, Lexie was already in tears and Meredith's hands were slightly blurry but other than that everyone was desperately trying to keep their cool together.

Jackson was desperate to say something, to do anything that would ensure that Hugo wasn't the one that was coming through the doors in an ambulance or god forbid something more but he didn't think that his mouth could from words without them becoming garbled or worse, without opening his mouth and screaming.

Then there was a flash of now red hair and the smell of April's perfume hit him in full force. She was gripping his hand and forcing something into his line of vision.

"He's fine" she hissed waving the phone in front of him. "He says he's fine and on his way in...Jackson...Jackson look" she elbowed him in the ribs to prove her point and Jackson turned in a horrible slowness to focus on what she was showing him.

The text was from Hugo and Jackson forced his mind to take in the context before he breathed a sigh of semi-relief. He half staggered back against the nurses station where he'd been standing hidden from everyone's faces, April wrapped one arm around him and tugged her into her side so that they were in this half hug and Jackson buried his face into her hair breathing in the scent of her shampoo for a second as she ran her hand down his back in a comforting manner.

"Sorry" he whispered under his breath as they pulled back following the rest of the surgical staff down the hallway. April shook her head as she tied her hair back. "Don't be" she said softly.

"The last time that this happened you and me lost our people" he confessed and Jackson realised that he still considered both himself and April the outsiders. There was a pause where they both looked at each other and April reached out again her fingers intertwining with his as they both prayed they wouldn't lose anyone again.

The first ambulance contained teacher that Derek took control of dragging Meredith still shaking slightly in the wind with him, Webber took the next, a cop that had apparently took a bullet from the shooter and the third was a red headed boy that Cristina of all people had saved.

Altman took control and Jackson, April and Hunt barely had time to comprehend what they had just seen before the next ambulance pulled up. Alex took the girl with Robbins and then came the forth ambulance and Jackson and April's turn. She gripped his hand even tighter as the paramedics came out.

"Charlotte Winters fourteen, glass in the leg she pulled it out at the scene, bleeding and tissue damage but controlled blood loss thanks to the kid at the scene"

"Kid at the scene?" Jackson asked exchanging a look with April. His heart was in his throat and judging by the look on her face her's was as well. The paramedic rolled her eyes and then opened the door.

Thankfully the sound of sirens drowned out the small noise that Jackson made when he saw Hugo alive with nothing but what looked like cuts and bruises. His hand however was stuck in the girl's leg.

"She just yanked it out, I couldn't stop her" he explained climbing out. "She's talking?" April asked and Hugo shrugged. "She was until ten minutes ago, then she passed out"

April nodded as they entered and finally managed to find a space. "Take your hand out" she said and Hugo did only for April to immediately pack the wound.

"You ok?" Jackson asked practically running round the table to Hugo. "Scratches" Hugo replied simply. "I wasn't even in the building yet" he caught his Dad's eye and shrugged. "I'm fine" he said quietly. "I don't...it doesn't feel like last time, I don't even know who did it" he shrugged coming to the end of the sentence and letting Jackson pull him into his arms for a second. The cuts he thought pulling back did indeed look superficial there was one that might need stiches but that was only if the bleeding didn't stop.

"OR" April said quietly. Jackson nodded. "I'm gonna go with April and Bailey and deal with this" he said staring at Hugo intently. "You sure...your gonna be ok?"

"Yeah" Hugo said breathing hard. "Adrenaline"

"Sit down then" Jackson said "At the nurses station where the red line is and I'll come out and get you"

"That was intense" April said as they scrubbed down. Jackson paused. "I need a drink" he said finally. "When this is over" April snorted. "I think we need several" she said looking up at him. "I was scared too you know" she said quietly. "I love him too"

Jackson stared at her wondering what to say. There was something nagging at the back of his mind but he didn't think he could say it just yet. He wanted to do something. Hugo's attitude much like Cristina's had surprised him and here April was telling him that she cared about his son like he was her own and he didn't know what to say.

"I know" he said swallowing down the lump on his throat. "Let's go stop this bleeding before Bailey get's mad"

It was some time later that Webber had brought Hugo up to the gallery where they watched Altman and Yang operate on the shooter. Hugo sat between April and Jackson and stared.

"I didn't even know him" he said quietly. "And he shot six people and injured twenty more" he paused then his hand found Jacksons who linked their fingers together like he used to do when Hugo was little and never got to do anymore.

The entire gallery was silent. Lexie and April were sobbing quietly. Meredith was gripping her husband who wasn't wincing and instead gripping back. Bailey had gotten moisture in her eyes. Webber was fingering his AA chip. Robbins and Torres had both forgotten their animosity and seemed to be shooting each other strange looks. Sloan and Owen were both sombre and Alex was leaning back on his chair looking exhausted. Even the non-feelings friendly Stark was quiet.

The shooter lived.

Jackson would to this day never know who started laughing. He thought Derek but he wasn't sure but suddenly they were laughing. They had laughed death in the face today six months after death had laughed at them and Jackson knew it was making everyone giddy. Adrenaline and a sort of fire that couldn't be put out was making everyone who had been involved that day of the shooting feel like they were shedding their old skin. Like they were becoming new people and the heartache of the last six months had never happened.

Webber gave the residents the night off. For once the Attending's didn't complain. Meredith went to find Cristina. Alex went for the bar with Lexie and Jackson went home with April and Hugo picking up a pizza on the way.

He didn't realise until he got to the car that he was somehow holding April's hand and when she smiled at him he smiled back feeling that nothing had ever been as easy as loving Hugo and smiling at April Kepner who he had never had to look to find her, standing by his side in the face of danger.

* * *

 **Next Chapter-7x12-Start Me Up-Hugo goes back to normal in the aftermath of the shooting, Jackson however takes some more time leading to a heart to heart with April. Meanwhile Hugo gets a thank you gift from Charlotte leading to some teasing from the house.**

 **Please Read and Review. **


	32. 7x12-Start Me Up

**Hi so here is another update, two in one. I am going back to school soon however so I don't know how updates will be once the workload increases so bare that in mind. Also this story will stop when it comes to Season 10 as that was the season where there was less tragedy compared to the Season 11 pain filled episodes.**

 **Any explanations for this chapter are in the last one and this chapter closes the arc on the shooting over Season 6 and Season 7. So now were gonna move onto new plotlines including the relationships between Jackson and Lexie and the brief relationship between April and Stark. There probably wont be as much drama for the rest of the Season instead focusing more on the dynamic between Jackson, April and Hugo as we head to Season 8. In fact I can tell you the next AU episode will be in Season 8.**

 **Any questions then ask in review or in PM.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 32-7x12-Start Me Up

Hugo goes back to normal in the aftermath of the shooting, Jackson however takes some more time leading to a heart to heart with April. Meanwhile Hugo gets a thank you gift from Charlotte leading to some teasing from the house.

* * *

The days after the shooting which had took place at Hugo's school were decidedly very different than the ones that had took place after the hospital shootout. To both Jackson and April's surprise Hugo carried on like normal. The school was shut for the rest of the week and Hugo did his schoolwork at home.

"Look" he said the first night. "I know what you're all thinking but...i dunno, it doesn't feel like the last time, I feel a lot calmer. I don't know why"

Surprisingly it was Derek that agreed with him. "We did a lot of good to counteract the loss we had that day" he said over dinner. "I think that the balance has been restored somewhat. I think we can all breathe again without looking over our shoulders"

Surprisingly enough Jackson kinda saw his point. The next few days Meredith and Derek began trying for a baby again, Lexie and April began smiling more and he found he could breathe whenever he saw Hugo go off to school. They went back to work and they lost lives and they saved them and they found out the residents that they weren't keeping tabs anymore.

And of course Cristina Yang was back.

The following days there was the shooting kids to take care off and the medical students that were coming to observe them. The very pretty medical student at the back got Alex.

"Really" Jackson hissed to April "Alex, you couldn't cut me a break?"

April shot him a look that would have had a lesser man on a table heading straight to the OR.

Hugo however was already in one of the rooms during rounds. It was with the girl he'd brought in who was getting her scar covered by Doctor Sloan with a skin graft. "My parents went to get some sleep" she said apologetically. "But Hugo told me all about you..." she sat up straighter "Do they really call you McSteamy?" she asked.

Sloan gave a rather nervous laugh, shot Hugo and then Jackson withering looks and then went about clarifying Charlotte's skin graft and the time of the surgery. When her parents came back Hugo stood up waved goodbye to his friend and followed Jackson out the room.

"You didn't tell me you were coming in today" Jackson said as they headed to the nurses station. Hugo shrugged. "I wanted to see Charlotte" he caught the looks April, Jackson and Alex (all on Sloan's service) all shot each other and rolled his eyes as Jackson started to grin.

"Oh for...i pulled a hunk of glass out of her leg I'm entitled to see how she is...I'm gonna go see if there's some coffee" and with a nod to his father he disappeared down the stairs to the cafeteria.

"Aw" April said practically bouncing up and down. "He has a crush"

"Oh God" Alex said rolling his eyes. "I'm gonna go before April starts crying tears of joy" he shook his head ignoring April's evil look and then disappeared down the hallway.

"He doesn't have a crush does he?" Jackson asked April as they walked down the hallway. "I mean, I'm his father he would tell me wouldn't he?"

He didn't realise that he sounded rather hurt until April stopped and stared at him. He'd never had this problem. He'd never had a father. April's face was filled with pity.

"I might be wrong" she said softly. "Come on, we have idiots to show around"

"We were idiots once" Jackson said softly. April let out an very un-April like snort. "Speak for yourself" she said finally. "I studied and you had a kid so I don't think we were the roaring party crowd that these kids were" she stopped still. "God I sound old"

"Nah" Jackson said smiling. "You don't look it"

April shook her head and carried on walking.

* * *

That night after the most humiliating evaluations that Jackson had ever got in his life, he and April were sat drinking beer in the kitchen when Hugo came in.

"Next time you wanna stay out late let me know won't you" Jackson said sardonically.

Hugo ignored him.

"I was with Charlotte dropping off some things she left at school. There finally letting us in to clear out our lockers and I met her Dad so he gave me a lift home, said it wasn't safe to take the bus anymore" he passed April a tin. "That's from her Mom to say thank you for the care she's been given"

April opened the tin to see what looked like thirty chocolate chip cookies. "Well that's breakfast tomorrow taken care off"she said taking the tin to the table and coming to sit back down with her beer bottle and a can of soda for Hugo who took it gratefully.

"I'm fine" Hugo said quietly catching Jackson's expression and Jackson nodded taking another long drag of beer. "I'm not" he said finally. Hugo nodded standing up to pinch a cookie. "I suppose not" he said finally.

April sat down next to them and Hugo paused taking in the quiet domestic scene. It used to be his Dad and him, even Charles had never gotten to the stage where April had gotten. She was now a fixed part of Hugo's life and if he was being honest he wasn't sure where he would be without her. He thought back to the shooting. If she hadn't told him to run back then he wouldn't have and then God knows what would have happened.

The pleasant mood that had trickled down to the three of them was interrupted at that point by the sound of pattering feet. The pretty girl, Alex's intern had apparently spent the night and was now skulking towards the coffee pot with an abashed smile.

April pulled a face but Jackson caught Hugo's eye. He was staring at the intern's legs with a look of interest. God, his baby did grow up somewhere along the line. Instead of going down that road (because he needed to be less sober than he was right now to do that all things considered)

So instead he chose to distract himself by the admittedly, rather nice legs and that hint of ass that was showing from under the shirt that must have been Alex's. God the bastard was lucky. He caught his son's eye and they both smirked that same Avery smirk.

"Ugh" April said shaking her head. Her hand came out and like some sort of young mother hen she slapped both Jackson on the back of the head and Hugo. Grinning both father and son giggled as April rolled her eyes.

All three of them were thinking the same thing.

Things were finally back to normal.

Long may it last.

* * *

 **Let me know what you think.**

 **Next Chapter-7x13-Don't Deceive Me (Please Don't Go)-Lexie, April and Bailey all get tweet happy. Hugo, Charlotte and Aidan all get in trouble when they read about surgeries during class and Lexie comes home looking for a shoulder to cry on and telling the house all about Mark Sloan, Callie, Arizona and the pregnancy.**

 **I will update as soon as I can. **


	33. 7x13-Don't Decieve Me (Please Don't Go)

**Hi so here is another chapter, please enjoy.**

 **And Yay, Harriet Kepner-Avery is here!**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 33-7x13-Don't Deceive Me (Please Don't Go)

Lexie, April and Bailey all get tweet happy in surgery. Hugo, Charlotte and Aidan all get in trouble when they read about surgeries during class and Lexie comes home in the middle of the night to tell the whole house about Mark, Callie, Arizona and the pregnancy.

* * *

It was a few weeks back into the school year and the mood for most of the students was slowly becoming more cheerful. The classes were starting to get harder as the year began to develop. Charlotte was back in school, most of the other kids were back and Todd the shooter wasn't mentioned.

The thing, Hugo thought one morning, living in a house full of Doctor's meant that you knew things. Hugo for example knew how to dress burns, knew how to do CPR and knew roughly how to cut someone open. You couldn't go a week without someone trying to sew up a chicken.

Aidan had come round for tea one day and seen Meredith cutting up a chicken in order to stich it back together. In between shooting rather appraising looks at Meredith, Aidan took the time to tell Hugo that he lived in the best house ever. "I mean" he said as Meredith but the chicken away. "You'd never get my father cutting up food with a cleaver and putting it back together or keeping a glow in the dark kidney in his room" he shook his head. "Can I live here?"

"No" Meredith said shortly grabbing her keys. "My husband has a thing about strays" she kissed Derek as he came in looking sleepy and Aidan refilled his coffee cup and Hugo's who passed it to Derek who fell on the drink like it was a lifeline.

Aidan watched Meredith leave. "Damn" he said as Hugo buried his face in his toast. "She's as hot as hell, you gotta love legs like that"

Derek spat a mouthful of coffee across the kitchen as Hugo kicked Aidan under the table.

"It's his wife" he said pointedly. Aidan in typical Aidan fashion ignored him and instead turned to Derek. "Well done" he said taking another mouthful of coffee. Derek stared at him as Hugo rolled his eyes.

"Lovely friend" he said finally dumping his coffee in the sink. "Kinda reminds me of Mark a little when he was young..." he shot Hugo another look. "Watch your girlfriend about that one" he said before he left the kitchen leaving Aidan sniggering and Hugo spluttering.

April chose that moment to come in on her phone. Hugo promptly kicked Aidan under the table again but Aidan had already reached for another piece of toast from the plate.

"You boys need a ride or are you getting the bus?" she asked cheerfully. Aidan shrugged. "Bus" Hugo said rolling his eyes at Aidan's response. "What's going on massive trauma" he said eyeing the phone in April's hand. April shook her head, "Twitter" she said shortly. "Bailey is tweeting a massive pancreatic surgery this afternoon, it's gonna be online for everyone to see"

Hugo stared and then dropped his gaze down to his plate wondering if Aidan was seriously going to grab the last piece of toast when April opened the fridge. "Now I made you some lunch, well both of you just to be on the safe side. I made some homemade chicken salad sandwiches and there's some homemade cookies in there as well." She passed the two bags to them. "Have fun"

"Wow" Aidan said as April left the room. "She's all kinds of awesome, April cooks, Meredith looks like that...are sure I can't move in?"

"No strays" Hugo deadpanned patting Aidan on the head. "I promised"

* * *

He was in English when the live stream started. Mr Alexander was teaching a chapter of Wuthering Heights and Hugo was sat at the back of the classroom with Aidan on one side and Charlotte on the other side. Charlotte was slumped over her book, her hair curling to the side. She was wearing a black jumper, grey jeans and black boots and her hair was being hit with the early spring sun lighting it on fire. Hugo kept shooting her looks but she never looked up at him which he found personally unfair.

Aidan was sat next to him and was on his phone under the desk. "Hugo" he hissed quietly. "What's a..." he showed Hugo the screen and he realised that Aidan had been watching the live stream of the surgery. He pointed at a word that Hugo couldn't pronounce. Hugo shrugged. "Why are you reading about a surgery?" he asked.

Aidan shrugged. "It's interesting, hell I've known you for a couple of years and your house is awesome, and..." he shrugged his shoulders again and lowered his voice. "Hell this damn job is awesome, I've been following this damn thing for nearly an hour and I can barely tear my eyes away from it. If something goes wrong within the next few minutes there gonna have to remove his pancreas which doesn't sound very nice"

"No" came a whisper. Hugo and Aidan turned to see Charlotte looking up. "No, it's not, don't either one of you pay attention in biology? We learned just last week how important the pancreas is." Hugo and Jackson stared at her and she shook her head her blonde curls falling over her face and shoulder. "God help the two of you if this is your chosen career."She said shaking her head.

"Woah" Aidan said looking at the two of them and then down at his phone. "He's flat lining and a guy called Webber is in the room and according to Lexie he's yelling."

Charlotte shifted ever so often turning to them and crossing her legs shifting so she was turning in her seat.

"Well go on" Hugo said rolling his eyes. "What's happening?

"What's happening" said a cold voice "Is that the three of you are all taking a week's detention"

Hugo, Charlotte and Aidan all looked up in a horrible tandem. Mr Alexander was standing in front of them.

"Aidan put the phone away before I take if off you, Hugo, Charlotte I don't care what your biology teacher told you report to my office at the end of the day and get your slips for detention"

Hugo shifted in his seat. Detention. He wasn't normally the kid that got detention. And now he and Aidan and Charlotte had gained a weeks worth of it due to Twitter.

Damn social media.

* * *

That night Hugo dragged his ass back home and handed the detention slip to his father.

"Detention" his Dad said frowning.

"Pancreatic Surgery" Hugo replied. "Online"

His Dad paused the father side of him clearly warring with the surgeon side of him not that Hugo knew about it. Well...maybe he did.

"Detention" his father said clearly. Hugo resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Ok" he said finally reaching for one of April's homemade brownies and ignoring the look on his Dad's face. "But it's not like I do it all the time, Aidan was asking me questions" he relented when he saw the unimpressed look on his Dad's face.

"I'm sorry and I won't do it again" he said finally. His Dad sighed leaning back against the chair and letting the sheet fall to the table. "Well I suppose you don't get into trouble that much" he admittedly grudgingly. "You can have this one after the year you've had. But don't make detention a habit because then I have to ground you and that makes life for the both of us very uncomfortable"

Hugo would concede that point at least.

"Aidan's outside" he said opening the door to see Aidan leaning against it looking half annoyed and half terrified. "Oh good" his Dad said with an eye roll, "It was bad enough when we're living in a house with just Charles and he was popping in every five minutes" he shook his head.

"Hey" Aidan said walking in. "You know there's a woman outside called Lexie and she's screaming and crying about people called Mark and Callie and how their screwing over their own life"

"April" Jackson shouted, "Get Meredith and tell her something is wrong with Lexie" there were two bangs upstairs and then sounds of shoes on the stairs. Meredith came down followed by April who was wearing a ratty shirt and leggings and Meredith was wearing pyjama shorts and a jumper and was followed by Derek looking furious and rumpled in a way Jackson knew intimately that meant that he was in the process of getting lucky when he'd shouted.

"She's outside shouting at the bushes" he said and Meredith rolled her eyes.

"Hey" Aidan said thoughtfully. "Is she your wives sister?"

"Yeah" Derek said shorty.

"Damn you're one hell of a lucky guy" Aidan crowed. Hugo could _feel_ Derek resisting the urge to throttle his best friend and decided to step in before Aidan learned what really happened when you had open brain surgery without the good drugs.

Lexie came in just as Alex came down the stairs. She was clutching a bottle of vodka which she shoved in Aidan's direction without really seeing it. This would have been the best time for Aidan and Hugo to disappear with the vodka but unfortunately as soon as he moved they both decided to move even an inch to the right to head to the stairs both of them were flashed looks that promised instant death by both his father and April.

"Callie and Arizona are gonna have a baby" Lexie said leaning against Meredith. Alex raised both his eyebrows in surprise. "She doesn't like kids" he said flatly. "She operates on them" Hugo said staring at him in surprise. He didn't have a lot to do with the attending's bar the one that he lived with and Mark Sloan.

"There having it done via IVF?"Meredith said in surprise. She shared a look with her husband that Hugo didn't want to read too much into. Especially because Derek looked like he knew exactly where this was heading and was preparing himself for the row that was gonna follow it.

"No" Lexie said swaying slightly. "It was Mark, when we were broken up. He went back to Callie after Arizona left and they..." she gestured in disgust taking the vodka having another swig and then passing it back to Aidan who was watching with a agog interest that came with a love for gossip.

"So now she's pregnant and their gonna raise the baby as some strange threesome kind of thing" she shook her head. "He sat there and asked me or near as damn it if I wanted in on it. As if the last time with Sloan wasn't bad enough" she shook her head and then burst into tears. Meredith took a step back and then realised that she was the one that should be comforting her sister. "April" she hissed and with an eye roll April nodded.

"Come on Lexie" she said gently "Let's get some coffee down you and then we can make a plan" she led Lexie to the kitchen Meredith trailing behind looking rather out place and leaving Hugo, Aidan, Alex and Derek standing in the house looking confused.

"Ok" Alex said finally. "I'm going back to bed, I'm on the night shift in three hours"and he left.

"I was about to get laid" Derek said forlornly. "I was happy..." he shook his head. "Strays" he said finally and then he stomped back upstairs.

Jackson, Aidan and Hugo were left standing in the hallway. "I brought money for pizza" Aidan said finally. "My home is unbearable and I wanna watch reruns of Law and Order in peace"Hugo rolled his eyes as Aidan kicked off his combat boots and headed to the couch.

"I'm sorry" he said finally and his Dad nodded. "I know" he rolled his eyes. "Don't do it again" he said and Hugo nodded and headed to the couch. Jackson was now the one left alone in the hallway.

God. There wasn't a quiet moment in this house. And with Lexie and April in the kitchen with Meredith, Alex and Derek back in their beds and Hugo and Aidan giggling like schoolgirls in the living room Jackson decided enough was enough and he was also going to bed because sleep...sleep was a thing that in this job in both of his jobs as surgeon and father, you didn't get easily.

* * *

 **Next Chapter-7x14-P.Y.T (Pretty Young Thing)-Lexie is upset, Sloan is upset, Jackson is caught in the middle and Hugo has to step in to save both his father's sanity and his career. **


	34. 7x14-PYT (Pretty Young Thing)

**Hi, so here is another chapter, again this one kinda takes a twist but i hope you enjoy.**

 **I know a lot of you are wondering when Jackson and April are going to happen and i appreciate that your in it for the long haul and i know a lot of you are not looking forwards to the Jackson/Lexie relationship and believe me i don't very much like the idea of writing it but as i stated when i started this story that it was cannon. Shonda wrote the Jackson/Lexie and the Jackson/Steph storyline in and therefore i will abide to her wishes, however Japril and Slexie will be endgame as tragic as that is so please bare with me.**

 **I am officially calling this chapter the start of Japril because this is the chapter Jackson realises he could have feelings for April but doesn't act on them because of Hugo and the fact that she's his best friend (therefore he turns to Lexie who is also getting over someone she doesn't think she can have)**

 **I hope that clears it up, any questions then send them in via PM or review.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 34-7x14-P.Y.T (Pretty Young Thing)

Lexie is upset, Sloan is upset and Jackson is caught in the middle. Hugo meanwhile has to step in and save both his father's sanity and his career.

* * *

The next few days were what one would call a fuck up. Lexie was over at the house either crying or eating her own weight in chocolate or drinking. Hell if Jackson never saw another peanut butter cup or the shiny wrappings it would be too soon.

Mark Sloan was in a horrible mood as well. He was clearly heartbroken, refused to talk to Lexie (although to be fair she was refusing to talk to him as well) and was clearly taking it out on anyone and everyone who looked at him funny. With the exception of Webber and Bailey (terrifying in their own right) Derek (who was….Derek) and Meredith (who terrified everyone with just one pointed eyebrow) so much so that Jackson spent most of the week chasing around Lexie like he was some idiot stalker and trying to find out how she was feeling and then reporting it back to his boss.

April naturally found the whole thing hilarious.

It surprise him how easy it was with April. How she was so open and easy to talk too. How he was use to coming home and telling her his worries, especially when they concerned his son. April was like a sponge; she took it all in and then offered him her thoughts on what was happening and how they should move forwards. One too many beers later, he realised that he had started to think of him and April as a team. A combative parental unit that dealt with his teenage son.

Moreover, that disturbed him.

Jackson had never thought of anyone else but him as Hugo's primary caregiver and even though he knew, his mother and Charles had both been there when Hugo was little to pick up the flack he had never considered or even felt about them the way he felt about April. She was just simply there without him asking her to be. It was unnerving to say the least when he came home and she was there sometimes making Hugo's lunch for him.

Even when he had thought about re-entering the dating scene, he had never thought about being with someone that would be a big fixture in his life. It was no secret that the lives they were leading as surgeons were long and lonely and even though Jackson knew that he was attractive and young he knew that Hugo was his baby, he did not want someone coming in and disrupting that deep bond that had only grown stronger over the last fourteen years.

And yet April had done it effortlessly and he didn't feel angry or hurt about it. Rather relieved that he had someone to talk to about the day to day stresses that came with raising a kid. He would have had time to lament about what this meant for his and April's relationship, weather a door could be opened for them but he did not think that he could stand something going wrong and the last relationship, the last serious one however had been well…Hugo's mother.

It was one of those conversations with himself that if he really tried (and by tried he meant got drunker than he had ever gotten drunker before) he could almost see where this was heading. This thing between him and April that he did sometimes think about pursuing. But Jackson knew he couldn't. Because if it were to fail he would never forgive himself for losing his best source of comfort, his best friend and the closest thing that Hugo had right now to a mother.

So if he turned his attention away from the pretty red head that always had the first pot of coffee on to someone else in the meantime well...that was really his own business. There was really no way that Jackson was perfect.

However, that still left the Sloan problem.

Sloan had taken to forcing him to ask about Lexie and report back at least three times a day and whenever Lexie was not her usual smiling self. It was getting to the point where Jackson, who really did want to learn about plastic surgery and kind of liked it was missing the whole thing because Sloan was worrying about his girlfriend.

Hell. As if Jackson did not have enough to worry about as it was.

Hugo had been at the hospital when it happened. And, by it, Jackson meant Sloan coming up at the nurse's station and asking him to go and see how Lexie was doing and if she had reconsidered becoming the third Mom in the relationship between Arizona, Callie and himself.

"This is getting ridiculous,"Hugo, said watching him over the nurse's station and picking at the leftover peanut butter cups that Lexie had left. "This is getting almost painful for me to watch, you look like a cat that got left outside in the pouring rain"he shook his head. "If this whole thing bothers you so much then go and find Sloan and tell him you don't want to be his little errand boy."

"Easy for you to say son" Jackson said irritably snagging another peanut cup out of both hunger and desperation.

"You're not the one who hasn't held a scalpel in a week because Lexie might look upset one day and then laugh the next and Mark doesn't know if she's gotten over him yet"

Hugo gave a long sigh and rolled his eyes standing up. "Ok" he said finally "Where's Sloan now?"

"Here" said a voice behind them. "Hey, Avery" Mark Sloan began "Did you get a chance to speak to Lexie…"

* * *

"Oh for fucks sake" Hugo snapped nearly hitting something in frustration, really how had his Dad done this for a week?

"She loves you of course she does but you hurt her feelings and did something that she doesn't feel ready yet, not everyone wants to be parents to a kid while there training to do one of the most difficult jobs imaginable, it's alright for you your board certified. Lexie? Not so much. You just went to Callie and had sex the second she was free of Arizona who I bet isn't happy about this either, did you even think about telling Lexie that Callie who wants a kid, spent a weekend rolling around in your bed so that I don't know…she could be somewhat prepared? Did you listen and learn anything from the last time?"

Hugo took a deep breath noticing he had an audience now, his Dad was grinning, Alex was smirking next to April who was beaming and even Derek gave him the thumbs up, feeling rather emboldened Hugo shook his head.

"Christ she's a fucking mess, and I know that because I have to clean up after her drunken chocolate mess and listen to odes about your ass and all sorts of shit and I don't have the time to do that, let her move on and leave us all alone."

"And" he said when Mark Sloan now looking rather stunned made a move to interrupt "Give my Dad the lead on the next plastic surgery cause he's a surgeon not your relationship guru and he actually likes plastics and you spend half of your life wandering around the hallways complaining about how nobody here appreciates your genius" he shrugged at Derek's appalled expression. "The nurses talk" he eyed Mark Sloan critically. "A lot" he said in a tone he hoped was loaded with meaning.

It was apparently. Alex laughed aloud this time and April who had been grinning was biting her lip against the giggles. Bailey and the Chief who were leaning casually against the wall in a way that convinced nobody were both smiling over their charts and Derek could not for some disturbed reason look prouder.

Perhaps realising he had no dignity Mark took the chart and left muttering mutinously. Hugo dropped his head down onto his book and groaned. "God you people are exhausting,"he said to the book cover.

"That" Alex said finally "Was the best thing I have seen all day, you know Avery…I have a new found respect for that son of yours"

Hugo resisted the urge to make a rude hand gesture at Alex's voice.

"Very nicely done," Derek said somewhere to his left. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to find my wife, if anyone interrupts in the On-Call room on five then you won't see the inside of someone's brain for a month"

"Sorry" Hugo said coming up for air. "It's been a long week"

His Dad and April both snorted. "It's ok," April, said snagging a peanut butter cup and wrapping her arm around Hugo like she did it every day. Her touch seemed to burn through Hugo's clothes. Again, he had never been touched like this, like he had a Mom and he found that when it was April he did not mind.

"Your Dad got some plastic surgery out of it"

"Hey I could have stood up to Sloan on my own" his Dad argued.

April and Hugo both stared at him.

His Dad just frowned and grabbed the last of the peanut butter cups.

"Mean" Hugo distinctly heard him mutter and he cracked a smile finally turning back to his long forgotten homework.

* * *

 **Next Chapter should come soon but bare with me as i'm back at uni and dealing with one hell of a workload.**

 **Next Chapter-7x15-Golden Hour-Jackson and April pull a night shift, Lexie presents a problem to the person Jackson thinks he wants but doesn't know if he should act on it, meanwhile Hugo and Charlotte while studying take a turn in their friendship. **


	35. 7x15-Golden Hour

**Hi here is another chapter.**

 **For those of you who asked about the Peanut Butter Cups in the last chapter I simply forgot April was allergic. I am in the middle of making notes for Season 8 and Season 9 right now and i'm re-watching Season 10 and some minor details slipped through the cracks.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 35-7x15-Golden Hour

Jackson and April pull a night shift, Lexie presents a problem to the person Jackson thinks he wants but doesn't know if he should act on it, meanwhile Hugo and Charlotte while studying take a turn in their friendship.

* * *

The following night everyone was pulled on another night shift. The great thing about being Attending's Jackson realised was that you might finally be able to get some sleep at night. The race was on for each of them to get the coveted spot for Chief Resident and the fight was to do with the medical trials. With Derek's trial and the Chief and Bailey both starting their own the race to have your name on a piece of medical research was beginning.

Lexie was also working the shift with them in the ER. The one that saw the arrival of a patient with an annoying girlfriend and a kid whose legs were broken. Meredith was in charge and the entire night was filled with an endless stream of cases. Jackson managed to catch one and was safe in the OR for at least a couple of hours with Derek Shepherd.

Hugo he knew was home alone what with all of the Doctors living in Meredith's house called in but as Jackson told Derek he probably wouldn't do anything stupid. Derek however, shot him a look that he couldn't interpret.

"What?" he asked. Derek shrugged. "I suppose that I remember my younger sister Amelia being alone. She got herself high and then drove the car into the wall and then nearly died in the bathroom" Jackson looked up from the suction he was holding. "Great" he said rolling his eyes. "I now feel the urge to call Hugo and make sure that there isn't a party at the house"

Derek laughed. "You know Bailey found out about me and Meredith at a party. We were in the car and she knocked on the door while I was literally in my wife and told me to move because I was blocking her car"

Jackson stared at him. He had never wanted to have this conversation with well...anyone...

And yet here he was.

And it wasn't making him feel any better.

The doors to the OR opened at that point, (mercifully) and Meredith came in. she muttered something to Derek about a date and then winked, (Jackson pretended that he didn't see it for the sake of his own peace of mind) "So there's a guy with a knife in his head"she said, Jackson nearly started, starting in surprise when in the middle of man's brain was probably not the best thing in the world.

"Sweet" he said finally. "I mean" he said catching Derek's expression and elaborating. "Poor guy".

In reality he was thrilled that something like this was happening. This was why he liked working nights sometimes, there was the lack of sleep and the lack of time he got to spend with his son and on top of that there was the fact that he was missing a rather important game tonight but the flavour of cases was a lot more varied and a hell of a lot more exciting than during the day.

He handed off the tools at Derek's instructions and went up to CT to see the guy. He would have rang Hugo but...well...really what could his son be doing at this time of night anyway?

* * *

Hugo was in fact doing a lot. Charlotte had come over claiming that she needed to borrow some notes for their upcoming English test. They had proceeded to study for at least two hours despite the fact that it was a ridiculous time and Hugo had actually wanted to try and watch some of the game tonight when she had turned around and kissed him right there in Derek and Meredith's kitchen.

In terms of kisses it wasn't that bad (and ok so Hugo had no experience) but he wasn't complaining even if he was a little confused.

"Charlotte" he said detaching himself with some difficultly. Charlotte shot him a look. "Shut up" was all she said and Hugo nodded to himself because a very pretty girl was without explanation in his lap and kissing him without caring. Why was he caring again?

Oh that's right he wasn't. He was kissing Charlotte. That was more important.

"Hey does this mean you're my girlfriend?" he asked pulling back again. Charlotte considered it for a second. "Yeah" she said finally. "I think I'd like that. Wanted that ever since you pulled that shard of glass out from under my leg"

"Oh" Hugo said not sure of what to say. Or if he said anything? Crap. This was kinda the thing that he needed his Dad around for. But then again no because if his Dad saw this he'd practically do himself damage trying to stop it. And what was a little making out between a boyfriend and his girlfriend anyway?

Yeah. He liked the sound of that.

"Is your Dad coming home soon?" Charlotte asked. Hugo shook his head reaching up to tangle his hand in her hair. "Work" he said privately thinking he might kill someone if they were interrupted again while simultaneously thanking everyone and anyone for inventing Night Shifts. God did he really used to complain about this when he was little?

He was clearly an idiot.

Thank God for the golden hour of opportunity Hugo thought. How he had ended up with a girlfriend in the space of an hour he wasn't sure but he really didn't care. Not when he was being kissed like his life depended on it.

* * *

Jackson was waiting on April who he was supposed to be holding a chart for when Karev shoved the tickets at him and then swept off to deal with a crying toddler in bed. Why Jackson didn't know but he wasn't going to knock a gift horse in the mouth at any rate.

He wondered for a second who he should take to this game. Lexie had had his back today when it seemed Sloan wouldn't get off it and while he liked spending time with Lexie he still couldn't take his mind away from April. April and him going to the game and then maybe sharing snacks and then maybe coming home...

No he shouldn't be thinking like this April was the closest thing his son had to a mother and she was his best friend to boot. He shouldn't be thinking about late night drinks with her and then causally suggesting dinner just so he could see her blush. He shouldn't be wondering (and hating) about the man who might one day get to take her virginity. She was his best friend and he wasn't going to jeopardise that just because there was something brewing below the surface.

Was Lexie the safest option? Well Sloan might kill him but at least that would be better than Hugo killing him when he inevitably screwed things up with April and she left them in the lurch because now everything was awkward. Should he just ask his son's opinion? Hell it had been so long since he'd dated that he wasn't sure what to do. There was no straightforward choice and each one he made directly affected his son and he wasn't sure if he was prepared to take a risk with his own relationships. Hell he lived with both of these woman.

Jackson ended up asking Lexie to go with him to the game but deep down he knew that he had only asked her if she wanted to go because April hadn't been down in the ER first.

* * *

 **Next Chapter-7x16-Not Responsible-** **As Jackson and Lexie work together on a complex procedure, he must work out whether or not to take a shot with Lexie or lay out all his cards with April. Meanwhile April learns that there is another side to Doctor Stark. Hugo attempts to tell his father about his girlfriend while Jackson himself wonders what Hugo would think of him dating seriously for the first time since his mother. **


	36. 7x16-Not Responsible

**Hi finally up with the chapter.**

 **Due to work and personal commitments that have recently developed I have decided to end this story at Season 8. I think ending the story around Season 8 gives the character and the story closure and I am able to finish this story before any commitments I have become to much of an issue for me to update. While I have enjoyed this story immensely and all the positive feedback I think that the last episode of Season 8 gives me chance to bring the characters to the end of a story a lot quicker than in the show and also allows me to change the end of a very angsty ending for some characters.**

 **Therefore I will have Japril together by the end of Season 8. This chapter lays the foundation for the rest of Season 7 and then when we get to Season 8 the relationship will develop a lot more quicker.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine,**

 **Please Read and Review.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 36-7x16-Not Responsible.

As Jackson and Lexie work together on a complex procedure, he must work out whether or not to take a shot with Lexie or lay out all his cards with April. Meanwhile April learns that there is another side to Doctor Stark. Hugo attempts to tell his father about his girlfriend while Jackson himself wonders what Hugo would think of him dating seriously for the first time since his mother.

* * *

Hugo had been planning to tell his father about the fact that he and Charlotte were now the equivalent of boyfriend and girlfriend. However what that meant at fourteen he wasn't sure. He knew that he wanted to go out with her and hold her hand but he wasn't sure why. Sure he had pulled a shard of glass out of her leg and they had both survived something horrible but Hugo had never had a girlfriend before, hell he had never had any girl interested in him before. He wasn't sure what to do.

However his Dad had been acting, well, strange, stranger than usual. Whenever April came in the room he would jump about five feet in the air and then go a strange colour. Hugo would have teased his Dad about whatever the hell was going on with him but he had his own confusing problem. When did girls go from being just girls to being...well girls that you date?

He could go to anyone other than his Dad he knew that, Hugo spent half his time in a hospital with Doctor's that knew his Dad and were friendly with them and living in a house with a load of relatively young people meant that he knew things and more importantly saw things that most people didn't see...at least not until their first mug of coffee.

Owen, Webber and Derek were all strictly off limits simply because Hugo couldn't have a conversation with them about girls to save his life, Alex and Mark would both grin idiotically and then give him some advice that Hugo wouldn't listen to unless he wanted to get arrested or probably become scarred for life. The bottom line was that the only person he had ever really talked to about girls was his Dad and even then he didn't have a girlfriend then who held his hand in the hallways and during class.

Crap. When did everything become so complicated?

Unknown to Hugo his father was thinking the exact same thing.

* * *

Jackson had been working on a transplant pair of lungs for Doctor Altman with Lexie who was sending secret little smiles at him that Jackson knew he was interpreting right. It might have been a while since he had gone on a date but he was still aware of when someone was interested in him. This life, the life of a surgeon took away the flexibility that came with the life that a normal person had and then when he had chosen to have and raise Hugo whatever had been left had always been spent on his son.

Hugo…Hugo was fourteen however, he was older now and it seemed in maturity he had aged a decade over the last few months. Jackson was completely confident that if he left his son alone he would not burn the house down. Well…he did live in a house with about six other people so there was that. But…Hugo had never really seen him with any woman other than…well April and that was a road that Jackson wasn't sure if he could go down right now…well not at work and certainly not sober.

The case they were working on took a horrific turn when Altman ordered the lovesick patients to break up. Jackson personally did not think that was going to do anything. Love was love and Altman he thought couldn't give the lungs away based on a relationship, no matter how destructive and dangerous it could be. But the look on the older woman's face was so severe that he wasn't sure if he could broach the subject without getting his head bitten off.

Hugo came in around the end of the school day with that far off look he'd been sporting recently coupled with that little smile that made Jackson suspicious. He would have asked Hugo what made him look like that but then again he wanted to talk to Hugo first. Regardless of whether it was April or Lexie he damn well wanted Hugo's approval before he took anything any further.

"Can I ask you something?" Hugo said coming up to meet him just as Jackson was finishing his charts. He chewed his bottom lip before releasing it. "Sure kiddo?" Jackson said closing the chart. "I kinda have to ask you something myself"

Hugo tilted his head to the side narrowing his eyes. He had never really been in a situation where he had ever seen his Dad look that nervous. Except maybe in the aftermath of the shooting when he had tried to get him to go and see Andrew Perkins.

"What happened now?" he asked already preparing himself mentally for what was going to happen. Surely, to God there was not another catastrophe coming around the corner. There was only so much death and destruction a kid could take for crying out loud.

"Nothing" his Dad said still looking unnervingly nervous. Hugo stared. This was never a good sign. The last time that happened his Dad was telling him they were moving.

That had turned out to be a good thing, he wasn't sure what this was going to be.

"How would you feel" his Dad began "If I asked someone on a date sometime?" Hugo blinked, how would he feel? How would he feel if his Dad wanted to go on a date? Oh shit how did he feel about it. Now he was thinking.

In truth he knew who he wanted his Dad to go out with.

April.

April had been a part of his life for so long that it didn't feel like two years it felt like it was a normal part of his life. Hell she felt like his mother in more ways than one and he could still remember what it was like that day of the shooting and sometimes when the three of them were out walking from the hospital together and people watched them Hugo for once thought that they must think that April could be his mother. He had come to the realisation that he didn't mind that so much.

But still. Hs Dad might not be telling him he was going to ask April out, Hugo didn't want to come out and ask him however, the nurses were terrible gossips and already two were shooting them suspicious glances.

"Is it someone I know?" he asked hoping that would be enough. If It was someone he didn't then...then that was a different story altogether. His Dad nodded turning back to his chart. "Yeah" he said his voice trying to stay normal Hugo could tell.

Hugo shrugged not wanting to get his hopes up but unable to dissuade them. If he was right. If his Dad was planning on asking April out and she said yes…it would be like he was unifying their own strangle little family.

"Then do it" he said shrugging. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask him if it was April but Hugo knew that if he tried to guess this would put his Dad off. It had taken a long time for them to get to this point and Hugo didn't want to scare away his Dad from being happy just for him.

* * *

Later that night Hugo was sat at the kitchen when April who had sprinted up to the bathroom to speak to Lexie came back down again with a rather surprised smile on her face. "You look happy" Hugo said staring back down at a nasty equation that he couldn't get his head around. April smiled. "I think Doctor Stark just asked me out" she said shaking her head.

Hugo had not had the pleasure of meeting the newest paediatric doctor yet and according to Alex he was to avoid him like the plague. He was confused. "You spoken to Dad yet?" he asked. Hopefully if his Dad did ask April out she wouldn't be bothered to much about turning this Stark down.

April shook her head muttering something about dinner. Hugo frowned his Dad had come home an hour ago and had then promptly disappeared upstairs claiming he had to research a case and needed some quiet.

He shook his head. He was overthinking it again. Everything would turn out for the best. After the year they had, had the three of them, it would have too.

Meanwhile Jackson was just drying himself off after he and Lexie had finally untangled their limbs and left the shower. The sex had been brilliant and Jackson had been into it with a passion until (and he hated to admit it) April had come into the room. The fact that Stark had asked her out infuriated him even though he knew that it had no right and even if he didn't there was the fact that she was standing in the same room as him while he'd been naked and covered only by a thin curtain. That was something he really didn't want to dwell on, if she'd had pulled back the curtain she'd have seen.

"You coming to bed?" Lexie asked from where she'd found her discarded underwear. Jackson blinked temporarily lost in thought. "Yeah" he said finding his voice again. "Let me go check on Hugo for a sec and then I'll join you"

Lexie smile dimmed a bit but she recovered herself and nodded turning and dropping the towel as she went. Jackson rolled his eyes without meaning to and picked up his jeans that had thankfully been hidden out of sight.

He had done nothing wrong, but still…for some reason something felt wrong. He had a horrible feeling he knew what but he didn't want to dwell on it. He wasn't going to lose his only friend for some feelings he was pretty sure she didn't have for him. No…he looked at himself in the mirror and nodded once.

It was better this way.

(And God help him, he realised much later on while Lexie was sleeping, how he hoped he was wrong)

* * *

 **Next Chapter-7x17-This Is How We Do It-As the competition heats up between the residents Hugo and Jackson make startling revelations about each other's personal lives leading to confusion on both sides and some hurt, also April continues her non-relationship, relationship with Stark leading to some teasing and some more tension and Callie and Arizona go for a drive.**

 **And let me know what you think**


	37. 7x17-This Is How We Do It

**Hi so here is another chapter.**

 **One of my own OC's Charlotte is back in this chapter. This character is struggling with the aftershocks of the shooting in 7x11 and therefore is struggling in her relationship with Hugo. I wanted to show that while Charlotte does like Hugo a little part of her does feel indebted to him because he saved her life. I also wanted to show how trauma can still affect people months later which is kinda the theme of this season if you count some of the earlier chapters I think. However all will be resolved in the last chapters of Season 7 and Charlotte isn't going anywhere.**

 **Like I explained in the last chapter I am finishing this story after Season 8. I have my reasons as I have explained and I hope you all understand and respect that, I can tell you that I have re-written Season 8 and that there will be no deaths or heartbreak bar what happened in the show. The last chapter will give you a Japril happy ending as well as a happy ending for all other characters as well.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this instalment and If I don't get a chance to update a very Happy Christmas and a safe and happy 2017.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please read and review. **

* * *

Little Lion Man 

Chapter 37-7x17-This Is How We Do It 

As the competition heats up between the residents Hugo and Jackson make startling revelations about each other's personal lives leading to confusion on both sides and some hurt, also April continues her non-relationship, relationship with Stark leading to some teasing and some more tension and Callie and Arizona go for a drive.

* * *

The residents were in full swing when it came to the race for Chief Resident. Cristina twice nearly knocked Hugo over into a passing patient in her rush to get to the ER and that was in the last week alone. The rest of the residents had taken to hounding Chief Webber in order to find out who was being chosen for his trial and the rest were hounding around for surgeries.

This was both good and bad. It was bad because Hugo saw even less of his father than he did anyway and it was good because he could spend more time with Aidan and Charlotte. Charlotte had apparently decided that she didn't want to do anything but kiss and Aidan more than once wondered aloud if her attraction to Hugo had something to do with the fact that he had been the one to pull the glass out of her leg but she refused to comment on that and Hugo was once again left to ponder whether his best friend might be one to something.

This was the kinda thing that he would have usually talked to his Dad about, but his father was always at work and when he wasn't he was generally upstairs with the door locked. Hugo knew he wasn't with April, her friends only relationship was Stark was a topic of discussion at least twice a day what with Alex constantly teasing her about it and April's steadfast truth that there was nothing sexual.

Hugo couldn't understand where it went wrong. He had thought his Dad was going to ask April out and he couldn't understand why he hadn't or why his Dad seemed not to mind that she was going out with Stark? He couldn't understand either why Lexie seemed to always be in a room with his father.

"You think maybe he's fucking Lexie?" Aidan asked when Hugo posed this question.

"No" Hugo said shaking his head. "Lexie and Mark are endgame everyone knows that" Aidan shook his head "But he's having a baby with his fuck buddy and her lesbian lover" he paused blinking "That's a sentence I never thought I would say"Hugo snorted.

"Charlotte's not well you know"Aidan said conversationally. "I think she has problems from the shooting" Hugo rolled his eyes. "Look" Aidan said sitting up. "She keeps snogging you so you don't notice it but she jumps whenever she hears a door open and Nicole Bradley from gym says she once found her locked in the bathroom when the fire alarm went off and she throws herself at you with no warning after you pull a shard of glass out of her leg and she doesn't do anything with you but snog"

Hugo paused. In truth they had done nothing but kiss whenever Charlotte came round and there was that one time Alex had slammed a door shut and she had fallen of the couch. The school shooting that seemed so long ago but in reality wasn't had affected them all but Hugo had been affected he knew, the least. Perhaps it was because he had lived through the hospital one and that had been horrific, tormenting them all until they had ultimately rebuilt stronger. Nobody had died that day in school and they had been encouraged to quickly move on, to pretend that it didn't happen, that they were safe no matter what.

Aidan had gone from strengths to strengths in order to rebuild but it was Charlotte that had started to behave erratically, it was Charlotte that was showing the signs of still being traumatised every day and when Hugo tried to mention it to her, her first response was to try and kiss him.

"Are you ok?" Hugo asked holding her wrists back. Charlotte stared at him for a long time and then she stood up and moved back to the corner of the room like a frightened animal.

"Really Avery" she said coolly. "If you don't want my thanks for saving my life then I don't know what we have to say to each other"

And that. That there was the problem. Hugo liked Charlotte, they had been friends or at least had been in the same grade as each other for a long time but he didn't want to go out with her if all it was to her was some kind of obligation.

This is why he didn't understand women.

And this more importantly was why he needed to speak to his father.

If his father was ever home.

And ok, Hugo knew this year was gonna be the toughest one, they were leading into the last year before most of the people in this house sat there final exams but he couldn't help but feel a bit lonely despite the fact that he was surrounded by help on all sides. He wanted to ask his Dad for advice even though he kinda knew what to do. They had always had a close relationship but now whenever his Dad was home he never seemed to stay in the same place long enough for Hugo to pull him aside and explain what the hell was going on. He wasn't sure he understood it himself.

There was defiantly something off with him.

Perhaps his Dad was simply just stressed out. At least that was what Hugo thought it was when he saw him in the hallway. Lexie always seemed to be with him as well and Hugo couldn't understand that. He liked Lexie but he couldn't understand why his Dad seemed to be spending so much time with her and why she kept giggling around him. He felt like he was on the cusp of something that he should have been able to pick up on and hadn't and that left him feeling incredibly dense.

And that made him angry.

In the end it wasn't someone that told him.

* * *

Charlotte had been over at his house, they had never really been over at her house and Hugo wondered if there was something telling in that. He had been attempting to help her study (and himself) for their next English Lit quiz but Charlotte had gotten easily distracted and Hugo had only noticed it when she had stood up clutched her leg where the shard of glass had been mere weeks ago and forced a smile on her face.

"You alright?" he asked casually, well he hoped it was casual. Charlotte turned to look at him then a smile so different to her own etched on her face it was startling, Hugo was beginning to think that maybe Aidan was right. Maybe Charlotte wasn't as ok as she was pretending to be. This was the kind of thing that he would want to tell his Dad about but he wasn't sure.

Charlotte was trembling slightly. The wind had picked up and Hugo couldn't understand what was wrong. She turned to him a smile on her face that was so fake it hurt. It was the kinda smile that made Hugo just want to put his arms around her and hug her.

"No" she said finally her face crumpling and Hugo climbed off the couch and wrapped both arms around her like his Dad would have done for him. For a second they stood there completely still when suddenly the door opened with a bang.

Charlotte screamed softly curling both of her legs around Hugo and pulling them desperately to the couch as if to shelter the both of them from harm but the giggling quickly dispelled any bad thoughts that she might be having. Hugo looked up, standing up knowing he looked rather dishevelled and Charlotte was half in his lap wearing nothing but a skirt and a short top her hair loose and her feet bare.

It was his Dad...and _Lexie_...they were both drunk and giggling like teenagers and his Dad seemed to have his _hand_ down the front of Lexie's jeans.

Hugo stared.

It hadn't been April he'd wanted to ask out after all...

Charlotte snorted and Lexie screamed when she saw the two of them. "Oh shit" she said buttoning up her jeans.

Hugo however only had eyes for his now slightly guilty looking father. Yeah. Oh shit just about covered it right about now.

* * *

 **And I will leave you with that nice little cliff-hanger.**

 **Next Chapter-7x18-Song Beneath The Song-In which there is no singing but plenty of drama. Hugo tries to understand his father's new relationship with Lexie while correlating it with the fact that his father apparently has no interest in April, April and Jackson end up both feeling dissatisfied, Callie is rushed into surgery after a devastating car accident that could potentially kill her and her unborn baby, Addison returns and Hugo finally confides in someone about his worries over Charlotte.**

 **And let me know what you think. **


	38. 7x18-Song Beneath The Song

**Hi so here is another chapter, this is the first one of 2017 as well. This one did kind of get lost along the way, I edited the bit out about Charlotte that's gonna be in the next chapter and before Season 7 ends I think we will probably get an April's point of view about how she feels about Jackson and Lexie.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 38-7x18-Song Beneath The Song

In which there is no singing but plenty of drama. Hugo tries to understand his father's new relationship with Lexie while correlating it with the fact that his father has apparently no interest in April. April and Jackson however are both left feeling dissatisfied with their relationships. Callie meanwhile is rushed into surgery following a devastating car accident that could potentially kill her and her unborn baby and Addison returns.

* * *

The days after the reveal that not only was Hugo dating a girl by the name of Charlotte but that Jackson was dating Lexie was one of the worst ones since...well those dark days after the shooting. Father and son were barely speaking and Jackson knew that fault lay with both parties. His son seemed to have gained the idea that he was going to ask out April, Jackson knew and hated his reasons why he wouldn't do that (though privately he knew that if April ever gave an indication that she was willing to consider a relationship with him he would...well...he knew what he would do) and he wasn't sure that he wanted to share those reasons with Hugo. Some things he knew his son was too young to understand and he thought that this was one of them.

Not to mention it would involve having a conversation about Liv and her place as Hugo's mother and then another discussion about how he would feel about April. That was a lot of conversation and a lot of emotional shit they had to go through and Jackson wasn't sure if he wanted to do that just yet.

But that didn't change the fact that he hated the silence that seemed to exist around him and his son. Hugo was pretending that he was busy all the time and when Jackson had gotten a little hot and heavy with Lexie on the couch and Hugo had walked in. He had stared at him for a second and then announced that he was going to over to Aidan's and that was the end of that. Even when Hugo said he was fine with Lexie and him dating Jackson couldn't believe it for a second. He wanted nothing more than to demand Hugo to talk to him but he couldn't help but shy away from the topic whenever there was an opportunity to bring it up.

Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how you were to look at it) there was a horrific accident that he didn't care about until he realised that it was Callie and Arizona. The fact that Callie was pregnant didn't help matters and there had been no word on the damage other than the fact that Arizona was standing and Callie wasn't. Jackson liked them both, both as surgeons and as friends and he liked Mark a lot, he was a good surgeon and one of the reasons why Jackson was interested in plastics.

Deep down when the conversation about specialities came around Jackson thought he knew how it was going to go. In fact he thought that most people living in the house with him knew how it was going to go. But that didn't change the fact that Callie was currently on her way to hospital and nobody knew if she or the baby would survive.

Jackson allowed himself to be pulled into trauma so that he could get a look at the injuries. There had been several injuries that he knew would be problematic and by the grim look on Derek's face he was willing to bet that there was also neurological damage and that was just to Callie, that wasn't even mentioning the baby. There was a split second where nobody seemed to breathe and then there were going through to surgery and desperate to save the innocent lives in their hands.

It was enough to push all thoughts of Hugo, Lexie, April and that fucked up triangle thing that was going on and he had to refocus his attention on what he was being instructed to do.

And...Was there music playing?

* * *

Addison Montgomery was coming. Addison Montgomery was coming, Addison Montgomery, Derek's ex-wife-the woman that had slept with Mark Sloan and (if rumour had it) Alex Karev. She was now based in Private Practice in LA and she was coming down by private helicopter as a personal favour for both the Chief and Mark Sloan. Jackson knew all about Addison Montgomery, his mother had admired her and that was one of the highest pedigree a young surgeon could get. She had advanced the filed in foetal medicine by miles and was one of the best.

Once word had gotten round the people who hadn't been here the last time she had touched down (mainly April and himself) were running around ragged. April was practically grinning. Doctor Stark was not impressed by the arrival of someone considered to be better than him and Arizona was glued to Callie's side and therefore Jackson didn't really know what her opinion on this was and he didn't want to ask.

Addison Montgomery swept through the hallway of Seattle Grace Mercy West her high heels clacking powerfully, she all but threw her coat on top of the nurse's station and then wiped her red hair around and stalked towards where the Chief was standing looking worried.

"Wow" April said from where she was standing next to him. Jackson jumped, he hadn't seen her from where she was standing. "She looks...formidable...Private Practice must be something, she's wearing about six different types of labels"

Jackson stared at her for a second. It took him a while to realise what he was staring at but he realised suddenly when the Chief called his name and he and April split to go do their respective jobs, that April really suited red hair.

God, he needed to get a grip, Callie and her baby could be dying, Hugo was barely speaking to me and he knew deep down that Lexie was probably with Mark right now preparing him for whatever happened next. And really, nobody knew what was happening next did they? In all aspects of their lives nobody knew what was gonna happen other than they were all lucky to be alive.

He sighed. He had to go back into surgery soon and there was something about today that just made him want to break down and cry. He liked Lexie but he loved Hugo and nothing would ever stop that, his boy had to come first no matter what, and if that meant that he didn't go out with anyone for some time then that was that.

And seriously? Who the hell was singing?

* * *

By the time the delivery was over Jackson was exhausted and more than a little emotional. The baby girl had been smaller than Hugo had been for sure but she was tiny and fragile and had a slew of medical problems that there might be nothing to do with, Hugo had been born small and with some worries around his heath but Jackson knew he had never had to deal with the scary thought of a brain bleed.

April smiled at him looking tired before she went off to find Stark. Jackson thought that she looked rather down. There was a second where she looked at him and her eyes seemed to be dark and expressive and then she disappeared smelling faintly of vanilla. Jackson leaned back against the wall feeling older than he had in a while.

"Callie gonna be ok"said a voice next to him and Jackson looked down to see Hugo watching him with those dark eyes. "I don't know" Jackson said truthfully. "I don't know if the baby is gonna be ok" he said as well. Hugo stared at him for a long time before he ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know if Charlotte's ok" he said truthfully. There was a second where they stared at each other and that silence seemed to speak a thousand words.

"Can we go home?" Hugo said without saying anything else. "I just wanna go home, I suppose that we can talk tomorrow or whenever but I don't wanna talk now, I wanna go home and eat pizza and watch shitty things on Netflix and pretend that the world isn't falling down"

It was how he was acting after the shooting Jackson realised. He wanted to protest but everything in his body was protesting against the thought of doing anything other than what Hugo had just described.

He was too tired to speak so he just nodded pretending that everything was ok.

Who knew, maybe tomorrow it would be.

Tomorrow might be different.

Tomorrow had a lot of unspoken questions that needed to be answered.

But that's a story for next time.

* * *

 **Next Chapter-7x19-It's A Long Way Back-As Jackson and Hugo attempt to talk through their issues, Hugo finally makes a decision about weather or not Charlotte needs him in her life and both father and son attempt to help Callie and baby Sofia regain their strength and help Alex gain enough money to help orphans get medical treatment.**

 **And let me know what you think. **


	39. 7x19-It's A Long Way Back

**Hi so here is another chapter, this one is a little bit shorter than I had hoped but does deal with the aftermath of the last chapter,**

 **I think soon we will have an April's point of view so keep tuned.**

 **Thank you all so much for your reviews and please keep them coming.**

 **Disclaimer, nothing but Hugo and Aidan are mine.**

 **Please read and review and let me know what you think.**

 **And I want to give a small shout out and say congratulations to both our past and present Grey's actresses Ellen Pompeo and Katherine Heigl on the birth of their sons**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 39-7x19-It's A Long Way Back

As Jackson and Hugo attempt to talk through their issues, Hugo finally makes a decision about whether or not Charlotte needs him in her life and both father and son attempt to help Callie and baby Sofia regain their strength and watch Alex gain enough money to help orphans get medical treatment.

* * *

The next few days were filled with rushing about so much so that Jackson never really got the chance to speak to Hugo in more depth about either his relationship with Lexie or his son's relationship with Charlotte. Jackson was constantly in the ICU either monitoring Callie in his spare time or the baby now named as Sofia. The entire residency staff had taken up a strenuous routine of someone always watching over the mother and someone always watching over the daughter.

Sofia as she was now named was tiny. Hugo had been small Jackson remembered well, but this girl was absolutely _tiny_. The list of medical problems stacking against her was intense and the way that both Mark and Arizona seemed to tiptoe around Callie seemed to bolster the belief that they were lying slightly about the risks that were surrounding both mother and child.

Cristina was on Callie's case a thing which privately Jackson marvelled at. Cristina was a good surgeon but was hardly interested in General. It wasn't until Alex told him over a coffee and slice of cold pizza at two in the morning that it was because Altman had kicked her of her service and was refusing to teach her anymore.

"Because of the thing in Callie's surgery. Altman wasn't comfortable with the procedure so Yang went to Hunt and Hunt showed up Altman in the OR in front of the Chief, therefore Altman doesn't want anything to do with her and Yang is clinging onto the surgery she can get. Bailey's too exhausted to give a shit" Alex took another slice of pizza. One of the things about working the night shift was that you were so hungry during the night that it didn't matter what you ate only that you ate and fast. The night shifts at the hospital didn't bother him so much, though perhaps that was because he was actively looking for reasons not to return home.

He and Hugo had never been like this, they had always been close, nothing had stopped them from openly talking to the other about what they were thinking or feeling, ok so Jackson might have kept some things private and Hugo might have done the same but he didn't think that anywhere down the line they had both been actively ignoring the other. It was hard to come home and find Hugo in bed when a long time ago he would have been waiting up for him to come home and discuss his day.

He wanted to demand that Hugo talked to him, to ask him what he had meant when he had said that it was Charlotte that wasn't ok but he wasn't sure if he could find the words to ask. He wondered if Hugo was wondering the exact same thing and if he should bring home cold pizza and let Hugo eat it regardless of what it would do to his insides like he used to do when he was little and would look at Jackson like he held the answers to the world.

Everything had become more complicated since he had decided to go back on the dating market full time. In hindsight perhaps everything would have been easier if Jackson had stayed single.

His pager chose that moment to bleep. Cristina was taking Callie around on a walk in order to help her with her recovery and Jackson, April and Meredith had all been summoned to help, or perhaps watch as Callie recovered so brilliantly in her care so that they could spill the beans to Altman the next time they were in her company. With Cristina anything was possible. Experience had told Jackson that.

But it was a good thing that Arizona had stopped the little experiment, because Jackson didn't know until later but Callie had collapsed and was now in surgery for another operation that might make or break the way she lived her life.

Another hour and little Sofia would be in surgery as well.

* * *

Hugo had spent a long time at Aidan's house whenever he didn't have to go home and seven times out of ten he made sure he spent the night. He wasn't hurt, he wasn't upset and he didn't begrudge his father for finding a girlfriend. What he didn't like was that it was Lexie.

"I have nothing against Lexie" he would say as he paced up and down Aidan's bedroom, his best friend was too busy typing up the last second adjustment to his assignment that they had due in. "But really? Lexie? She and Mark should be together" and then he would flop on the bed and try to figure out where it had all gone so wrong.

"Did he actually say he was going to ask out April?" Aidan said not looking up from a translation he was applying from a book to his Spanish essay. Hugo thought about it for a long time. "No"he said grudgingly. "But they were always talking and she's always around the house and she and Dad are best friends and..." he caught Aidan's expression and stared at his best friend for what seemed like an eternity.

"Fuck" he said finally throwing himself back on the bed. He stared up at the ceiling as a realisation came crashing down upon him. "I made the whole thing up in my head didn't I?"

Aidan stared at him with something that looked painstakingly like pity. Hugo swore again.

* * *

Jackson had been distracted somewhat, what with breaking more than half of the emergency protocols so that Callie could see her baby for the first time. Perhaps he understood the help that seeing her child for the first time with her own eyes would be to her but he was glad to see a smile on her face even if it was only for a few seconds.

Therefore he forgot that Hugo had been coming in after school. Jackson caught him looking at baby Sofia through the glass.

"You used to be that small once too" Jackson said trying not to dwell on those memories. Hugo shook his head. "Kinda hard to imagine" he said finally. "There all so small and fragile, some of them are the sizes of soda cans" Jackson nodded not sure what to say. That was one of the hardest things about working with kids in his opinion.

"You wanna talk about..." Jackson let the question hang. Hugo turned to look at him. "I want you to be happy" he said flatly. "If that's with Lexie then I don't have a problem. I just..." he shrugged "I didn't expect it then"

"Yeah I know, there's a lot of things that I didn't expect either...Charlotte for one" Jackson said. Hugo shrugged again. "I don't think it's going to last" he said finally. "I think we were better off as friends in hindsight. I think the shooting at school caught up with her and...And it didn't with me"

"You did have problems after the shooting in this place" Jackson said gently. "Maybe you reacted differently a second time. Please God there won't be a third."

Hugo snorted once and then smiled. "We good?" he said finally and Jackson smiled back hooking one arm around his son and pulling him close.

"Were always good

* * *

 **Next Chapter-7x20-White Wedding-Callie and Arizona's wedding is here, April and Hugo bond a little while they watch Jackson and Lexie and Hugo finds out that he doesn't have to make a decision about weather or not to bring up the shooting with Charlotte when she comes to a decision herself.**

 **And we are nearly at the end of Season 7! I will try and update as soon as I can. **


	40. 7x20-White Wedding

**Hi so here is another chapter, as we are heading towards the end of Season 7 and the beginning of Season 8 this story might get more and more progressively AU.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine,**

 **Please Read and Review**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 40-7x20-White Wedding

Callie and Arizona's wedding is here, April and Hugo bond a little while they watch Jackson and Lexie and Hugo finds out that he doesn't have to make a decision about whether or not to bring up the shooting with Charlotte when she comes to a decision herself.

* * *

Callie and Arizona's wedding was almost upon them, the race for Chief Resident was almost over and to cap matters off the clinical trials were almost ending. Derek's was struggling perhaps because it had the Chief's wife in it and therefore he couldn't afford to screw it up, Altman was still ignoring Cristina which made life unbearable for anyone and everyone around her, Owen was now in her firing line again having been brought on to help choose the Chief Resident. Furthermore as far as Jackson knew Hugo was still confused over his relationship with Charlotte and her trauma concerning the shooting that she had nearly been killed in.

The relationship between him and Hugo was somewhat back to normal following the revelation that they were both in fragile relationships. Jackson liked Lexie and he couldn't deny the sex was great but he had to admit at night when she fell asleep beside him he couldn't help but feel like something was missing, he didn't understand why but he had a horrible feeling all at the same time that he did understand and that this was the price for being an idiot.

That being said, maybe he was working too hard, the boards were next year, his speciality for next year had to be in on Monday and Jackson was still debating between Nuro and Plastics despite Hugo telling him on Sunday morning, on the one day that Jackson had off that he was being an idiot. "I mean we both know you know what you wanna choose and we both know the one reason why your worried it won't work out" his son said with usual amount of harsh teenage cynicism.

Hugo jerked his head upwards to the ceiling at this point and Jackson knew he was in his own non-disrespectful way indicating Lexie. Jackson didn't really want to point out that he thought his son might be right, Mark Sloan was still Lexie's ex-boyfriend, still the man to study under if you were going into plastics and also a man that Jackson had been actively avoiding since the news about him and Lexie had gone public.

Hugo saw all of this written across his face and rolled his eyes so hard for a second Jackson was worried that they were going to sit there in the back of his head permanently. "You know that with a baby now and with this relationship he's supposedly starting up with that Doctor from Seattle Press and the fact that Sloan is a complete attention whore desperate to pass on his knowledge and the only one that he trusts with that is you I don't think he cares all that much about Lexie and who she's sleeping with…no offense" he added as an afterthought.

Jackson noticed at that point that Hugo was eating what looked like a Danish the size of his hand. "Where the hell did you get them from?" he asked feeling rather put out.

Hugo grinned once with relish. "Your boyfriend" he said "That's how I know he wants you to declare for Plastics, showed up last night with a whole basket of them freshly baked and told me how he knew you worried about me eating and if it was no trouble could I causally mention he cared so much about your education that he was prepared to drive out in the middle of the night with a new-born to deliver food so you wouldn't have to worry"

He rolled his eyes at the end of that statement and took another huge mouthful of sticky Danish. Personally Jackson didn't see how Hugo stuffing his face with pastry for the day contributed much to his education but he could almost see where Sloan was going with this, if Hugo liked Sloan then he would probably push Jackson into studying with Sloan. Or so Hugo had casually hinted.

"Really?" he asked feeling somewhat impressed and yet exasperated all at the same time. Hugo shrugged. "Hey he keeps giving us things," he said grinning. And he knows that you still haven't officially declared anything, Yang declared Cardio for as long as I've known her, Alex likes Peds, Meredith is married to a brain surgeon it's no secret what she's gonna pick, it's just you and April left and everyone wants a pick of you, and if Mark Sloan is interested I say give me a coffee maker for my room and throw me fifty bucks while he's at it because this only comes around once in your life" he nodded and moved to pour himself another mug of coffee into his travel mug, he grabbed another two pastries until Jackson pulled himself out of his amused stupor and took the basket away least Hugo stuff his face with all of them.

"You coming home early this afternoon?" he asked turning back to the pages of the Medical Journal he had been reading, "I want to make sure that you have a decent suit or at least a decent shirt and pants for this wedding thing before Friday"

Hugo nodded. "School's mostly over now anyway" he said shaking his head. "I just have to drop in some essay's and then we can get the planning over for this wedding…what the hell are you supposed to do at a lesbian wedding?"

Jackson shot Hugo a look over the medical journal. "It's the same as a normal wedding Hugo" he said sternly "And if I see one drop of alcohol you can kiss your phone goodbye for a month"

"Jeez" Hugo said shaking his head.

* * *

Hugo didn't really plan on doing anything the morning of the wedding. It was a Friday and the house was in complete disarray. Meredith, April and Lexie were on shift and therefore would be changing at the hospital. Alex had come home in a mood, had snapped that he didn't want to talk to anyone and then promptly locked himself away. Hugo was too used to the random moods that this house and it's residents were always in to pay too much attention, when he realised that he had to go back to school on the half day before summer vacation because he had accidently left behind one of his chemistry essay's.

And that had brought about this little…confrontation…with Charlotte who had been steadfastly avoiding him since the incident at his house when he, his dad, her and Lexie had all been caught in compromising positions. In fact she was the one that had instigated it. She was leaning next to his locker and Hugo noticed that she looked a lot healthier than the last time he had seen her. She had cut her hair to her shoulders and had it lightened and layered and she was wearing blue jeans and a black shirt and boots, she smiled when Hugo approached and he was suddenly aware that he was in a really shitty pair of jeans and his own boots were covered with mud.

"Hey" she said grinning as Hugo came over, "I wanted to talk to you, Aidan told me you have that wedding and I'm glad that the baby is ok and all but I wanted to do this face to face" she paused looking down and then looking back up through her now short hair.

"I'm leaving" she said finally. "I'm transferring to another school" she shrugged but Hugo noticed she was smiling and he found that he was smiling too. "I guess where breaking up" he said and it wasn't a question it was true. Charlotte looked up at him and shrugged. "I need to go and take some time to figure out what's going on with myself" she said by way of an explanation. "I don't like being here anymore, I hear a locker door slam and I think it's someone coming up behind me with a gun and some nights I wake up in cold sweats and...it got to the point where I even didn't feel comfortable in my own skin, I would get up and get a coffee and then remember little things and...this place doesn't help that, safe or not safe. I don't wanna be here and...i think whatever I had with you, if we could call it a relationship is part of that"

Hugo stared at her. Then he nodded. "Friends" he asked finally and Charlotte laughed pulling him into a hug. "Always" she said finally. "I'll give you and Aidan a ring when I get settled in after the summer and then we can do something...something the three of us"

Hugo nodded and then she was gone.

The wedding went off without a hitch. Mark walked Callie down the aisle due to her parents being idiots (or at least that was the version he got from Mark) and Hugo sat next to his father who was now seated next to Lexie. The last wedding they had been too was Cristina and Owen's and his father had stood next to April all night and they had all been too shook up over the shooting to pay much attention to what was being said.

"Are you ok?" his Dad asked him as they moved to the table. Hugo didn't think he wanted to tell him about Charlotte yet, or more to the point how much it didn't hurt. Instead he nodded and headed to the bar where April was and ordered himself a coke.

"Hey" April said smiling at him. "Your Dad seems to be having fun" she turned to grab a flute of champagne. It was on the tip of Hugo's tongue to ask her when she looked so melancholy, that he had thought, had hoped, had wanted and still wanted her to date his father, had believed that they could become their own little family. But as soon as he worked up the nerve he heard his Dad laughing from where he was twirling Lexie around on the dancefloor. For once his Dad was happy and more to the point he looked... _young_. It seemed Lexie was the one that was making him look like that, not Hugo, not April, just...Lexie Grey. And that really solidified it for Hugo.

It seems he would have to try and get along with what life had given him.

Hugo wouldn't be the one that took away that look on his Dad's face.

And if that meant it was Lexie instead of April then...then he would just have to make that work.

"Yeah" he said in response to April's question resolutely turning away from both her and the scene playing out on the dancefloor. "Yeah I'm fine"

* * *

 **Next Chapter-7x21-I Will Survive-Jackson has to make a decision about weather or not to stick his name on something that might work but never win and Hugo meanwhile picks up on the tension between Alex and Meredith as the Chief Resident is finally picked.**

 **And I will update as soon as I can. I hope you like this chapter and let me know what you think. **


	41. 7x21-I Will Survive

**Hi, another chapter and the penultimate of Season 7. The next chapter will be the last of Season 7 and then we go into Season 8 and the final season.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review and let me know what you think.**

 **I am releasing the Chief Resident part in the next chapter, that was just a mistake on my part.**

 **(And just a quick spoiler post- I watched last night's episode stream from about one o'clock in the morning where I live and I am so glad that Alex didn't fall on his sword and go to jail that I am mentioning it in this chapter as a side note. Let the mutiny continue.)**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 41-7x21-I Will Survive

Jackson has to make a decision about whether or not to stick his name on something that might work but never win and Hugo meanwhile picks up on the tension between Alex and Meredith as both he and his father learn the cost of being an Avery. 

* * *

The big problem was that Jackson knew what would happen should the clinical trial be a success, he knew what having this name, his name on the label even as a secondary doctor would entail. Doctor Webber's trial was good and strong and perhaps one of the better ones Jackson had ever seen. Even his mother had been impressed when Jackson had told her during a phone conversation what they were doing, though she had always had some form of admiration for Doctor Webber that Jackson in truth couldn't for the life of him understand. And more to the point wasn't sure he wanted to.

He wanted to be in on the trial. He had put in a great amount of not only work and hours and lack of sleep but also lack of time when it came to Hugo and Jackson knew that while his son was always accepting of what he did for a living there were little things, especially over the past couple of months that he could have helped with. This Charlotte problem, though Hugo now assured him it was taken care of was one of them not to mention the whole debacle they had gone through when it had come to the both of them finding out about their respective girlfriends.

So yeah, he wanted something to prove but the problem was deep down he knew it could never happen. Webber's trial was good, it was very good and had a high chance of being recognised by all the right people the problem was as Jackson had learned from an early age his name on it would act as more of a deterrent than anything. The name Avery was a godsend in the medical community as long as you weren't'an Avery. That was when the trouble started.

Hugo had looked at him over his mug of coffee, (and Jackson would have asked if he was on Decaf but his heart wasn't in it) when he had heard the news. Hugo he suspected knew the reasons why but thankfully didn't comment just raised an eyebrow and nodded. Hugo thankfully was still granted some protection from realising the double standards that surrounded his last name but Jackson suspected that it was only a matter of time before he realised that it was a curse and a blessing. Hell he suspected deep down that he already had.

Webber had looked surprised and more than a little hurt and wasn't that just like a kick to the balls but in hindsight Jackson really couldn't have picked a worse time to quit. He knew that he had the same shot of gaining the Chief Resident spot that Yang had especially considering that she was married to the man that was in charge of them sex or no sex of the table (and yeah he had caught the tail end of that conversation between her and Meredith when he had gone to the Nurses Station and the Lord knows he wished he hadn't) but he knew that now he had just blown his chances out of the water.

Well, could they had really hired him what with his name? Had he been deluding himself all this time? Or was Hunt right when he said that it was a shit move to make? That it proved his unreliability? His relationship with the man was tenuous at best considering his trauma certification all that time ago but he had hoped that he could build it back.

The summer was well and truly on it's way and therefore when he wasn't spending the day out with Aidan doing God knows what that Jackson really didn't want to think about Hugo would spend the day at the hospital. It seemed a little strange to Jackson but as Hugo pointed out, staying on the off chance that he would see a little bit of carnage was better than spending all his time at home. Especially considering the house was never empty. There always seemed to be someone in that house even more so now that there were two couples living in it.

Hugo was waiting outside the office and Jackson could see from the frown on his son's face that he had caught the tail end of the conversation or more like the one sided row that he'd been having with Hunt. Hugo shot a glare at the back of Hunt's head but Jackson reached out and shook his head. "No" he said seeing his son's rather defiant expression. "Leave it alone" Hugo stared at him. "You and I both know why you took your damn name of that trial because otherwise it would never get anywhere not because you wanted to"

"I know that and you know that but Hunt and more to the point the rest of this hospital don't know that and I'd rather not have it spread around"

Hugo stared at him for a while and then shrugged turning to his phone.

That was apparently all Jackson was going to get out of him on the subject.

However, how very wrong he was.

* * *

Ok so Hugo was not technically going against his Dad's wishes. But he was so damn sick of the drama that seemed to follow his Dad home, he was the teenager, it should be him coming home with the love triangles and the jealously and the fact that people were clearly dating other people that they shouldn't be but being idiots about it and not realising until it was too late.

In addition, there was something strange going on between Meredith and Alex, he could not understand what it was but he was noticing some strange icy vibe between the two of them and it was privately freaking him out. Alex and Meredith and Cristina were the last of the five of the group that were left, one was dead and the other had left that much Hugo knew, he also knew that Derek and Meredith were struggling to start their own family and Cristina had a marriage that seemed to be constantly in trouble. Alex, well Hugo didn't know whether or not there were days where all three of them were snapping at each other and he knew that Alex had started a romance with one of the newest doctors that he hadn't met yet.

Something told Hugo that this was going to be an eventful summer to say the least.

That being said he had more important things to do, right now it was ignoring his father and going and yelling at the trauma surgeon because really? Didn't anyone understand that there were downs to being an Avery? Ugh? And well, Hugo had to make some sort of trouble, he all but lived in this place, and the run for Chief Resident had been draining the entire house for a long time. Damn right he had a say in it. He chose him moment wisely or perhaps not considering Cristina Yang had just barged out of the conference room nearly pushing him into a wall her face contorted into a snarl.

"I don't envy you going home to that" he said as Owen helped him to his feet. He looked tired Hugo realised and his indignant anger at the man seemed to fade away. It was not easy he realised being married to the woman that was determined to become the Chief Resident with four other people behind her ready to say Owen was biased to get laid. Crap, how the hell was Hugo going to yell at him now?

"You shouldn't have yelled at him" Hugo said finally. Hunt looked at him for a second before realisation landed on his face. "Hugo" he began but Hugo shrugged. "Were Avery's" he said finally. "Figure it out, there's a reason we cannot but our names on stuff"

And with that he turned around and walked away from what felt like another crisis that was developing and was thankfully did not involve him or anyone he knew about.

And it was raining to boot.

Hugo stared out at the darkening sky for a second and then went to find the Residents lounge before the headache he felt like he was getting exploded. Plus the Residents lounge had pretty good free Wi-Fi.

Two hours later when finally he decided enough was enough and that he was going home and picking up the largest pizza he could find on the way he ducked into the nurses station to let his Dad know and perhaps to inquire when he was coming home so that he would know if there was going to be a repeat of what he know called the 'Lexie Incident' as he rounded the corner he saw Owen Hunt disappear and he scowled.

"Is he having another go at you?" he asked. His Dad laughed once. "No" he said finally. "But I'm out for Chief Resident"

Hugo paused for a second thinking this over. "Are you ok?" he asked finally. His Dad nodded. He seemed rather too cheerful for someone who had lost what he had been working for, for a very long time.

"I have you don't I?" he said grinning. "Give me a sec to file these things and check on these labs and then we can go home and do whatever you want" Hugo grinned at him. It seemed there was a moment of peace.

Well, peace was always disrupted and tomorrow...

Well tomorrow was another day entirely.

* * *

 **Next Chapter-7x22-Unaccompained Minor-As we near the end of Season 7, a series that has brought us some trauma, some laughs and some romance, we learn that-Meredith has been dishonest, Cristina is pregnant, Jackson and April share a moment as the Chief Resident and Hugo meets the houses newest resident of the house when he comes home from a party.**

 **And let me know what you think. I will update as soon as I can. **


	42. 7x22-Unaccompained Minor

**Hi so here is the end of Season 7, i am working out some kinks for Season 8 especially the If/Then episode which might be skipped but other than that i can promise an AU Happy Ending with no deaths (at least in the finale)**

 **Thank you all for your reviews and keep them coming**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine,**

 **Please Read and Review.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 42-7x22-Unaccompained Minor

As we near the end of Season 7, a series that has brought us some trauma, some laughs and some romance, we learn that-Meredith has been dishonest, Cristina is pregnant, Jackson and April share a moment as the Chief Resident and Hugo meets the houses newest resident of the house when he comes home from a party.

* * *

 _"_ _We are all living in a dream. But life aint what it seems, Oh everything_ _'_ _s a mess_ _"_

 _"_ _If I lay here, if I just lay here, would you lie with me and just forget the world?_ _"_

It seemed almost unfathomable to any of the residents at Seattle Grace Mercy West that just over nine months ago they had been through the worst trauma anyone could imagine. There had been blood on the walls, there had been people crying, chaos and terror and the nightmares had lasted longer than anyone could ever anticipate.

In the rebuilding however Hugo had found himself a new family. Meredith, who was icy a first but turned out be a great friend and more to the point a great coffee brewer. Derek who covered the tables with plans for a house he was building on his own land and muttered about the 'strays' living with him at least twice a day even though they knew that he couldn't live without them. Alex who was a good laugh when you got him in a good mood and would give the funniest advice that you would never follow but appreciated all the same, Lexie who was sweet in her own way, who Hugo had to now accept even thought a little part of him still didn't want to and April...April who had been a godsend when Hugo had needed her, who had been the closest thing to a mother that he had, ever had. And who he was still holding out hope would be with his father in the endgame.

And finally summer was here to boot. The sun was shining and Hugo was damn well going to spend his six weeks of well-deserved freedom by sitting on his ass and enjoying his time off. In fact he suspected that Aidan had something planned up his sleeve that would cause Hugo grief but he didn't care, not when he could wake up at noon and spend the whole day watching TV with no homework.

"I hate you" Alex Karev snarled at him one night when he left to go to work and saw Hugo slumped on the couch, popcorn, soda and the latest re-run episodes of Law and Order all up on the TV. Hugo flipped him off and then gave a cackle worthy of a murderer on the TV he thought. Alex snarled once at him and then went out slamming the door shut with all the sensitivity of a blunt axe. Hugo then turned and settled down on the edge of the sofa and began to watch the latest episode.

He didn't understand what was going on between Meredith and Alex or even Meredith and Derek, all he understood was that Lexie was dating his Dad, April wasn't, his Dad seemed happy and there might be a new addition joining the house if it was true that Meredith and Derek were adopting. That was all the information that Hugo had time to process. He didn't need to know about Chief Residents or any major traumas. He didn't want to think about that. Not when the sun was shining and he was finally relaxing for the first time in what felt like a long time. The first time in what felt like forever.

He thought that it was going to be a quiet day. However that quickly went up on smoke though Hugo would like it noted that he didn't know about it until after the fact that it had. He hadn't know what had happened until Meredith Grey looking tired and battle worn had staggered in through the door carrying a sleeping baby.

* * *

The day had stared out fairly ok. There had been no posting of the Chief Resident yet but that was ok. In fact Jackson wasn't bothered. Now that he knew he was out of the running that Yang was out of the running it was really down to Meredith, Alex and April and while he privately hoped that April would win he had to admit that as far as he could see it was either going to be Meredith or Alex. They had been in clinical trials, had sponsored projects and were the last left who had staggered through the backbreaking eight years or there about of their own residency program. They were loved in this hospital and both Jackson was loath to admit, fucking brilliant surgeons. But still. That didn't do much when he teeth were on edge just thinking about the gloating power that either one of them would get for the rest of the year.

But before the first trauma had even been announced there was a rumour doing the rounds. That Meredith Grey, daughter of Ellis Grey had been dishonest when it came to administering the drugs for the clinical trial. Jackson didn't even have time to listen to the hushed rumours because he was forced into a surgery straight off with Doctor Bailey who seemed to be in an even worse mood than ever. Cristina was no help, even if Jackson could get her to betray Meredith's confidence so that he could figure out if she was going to be fired or not she was nowhere to be seen and Alex was snarling at everyone and everything that had even looked at him this morning. That coupled with the fact that April had overheard Meredith tell Alex to get his crap out of her house by the end of the day and that she was probably going to lose her licence on top of her marriage led him to hide out in the CT room trying to keep clear of any angry residents and attending's.

And that was where he was when he found out two things.

One. A plane had gone down in the ocean and they were now on high alert.

And Two. April had been made Chief Resident.

He was honestly shocked. His feelings for April aside he had never really seen her as a threat. He had never really seen April as anything other than a competent surgeon. Ok so there had been that bit years ago where she had been doing the Admin for Derek but he had thought that was it. But the more he thought about it, the more he wanted nothing more to do than laugh. April had been quietly plodding along not being taken seriously by anyone and then had at the last second knocked the prize out from all of them. If Jackson had been more invested in becoming Chief Resident then he might have been annoyed, as it was he was more amused than anything else.

But he couldn't congratulate April just yet because of the plane crash. The plane crash that they were prepared for but that nobody seemed to arrive. Then Sloan broke the news that they had all known but been dreading. All of the passengers on that plane that had just fallen out of the sky...were dead...

And there were hundreds of parents to break the news too, hundreds of wives and husbands and children to tell. At least if someone died on the operating table then you at least knew that there was something you had done, but this...and Jackson hated talking to parents anyway because...because all he could think about was...

"Don't think about it" April said sitting down next to him after he had needed a break from telling the last couple that their daughter was dead. "Don't think about Hugo otherwise you're going to crack up and this day has already been bad enough" Jackson smiled grimly.

"God I hate things like this" he said finally. It was on his brain, asking her how the hell she had got Chief Resident but before he could ask her Lexie came up to them her face shining with an expression that didn't seem appropriate considering the circumstances. Jackson was just about to ask what the hell was going on when Lexie opened her mouth and told them what seemed like the best news possible.

"They found someone" she said grinning. "An unaccompanied minor but she's alive and she's heading up to surgery" she shook her head her dark curls spilling down her back in a way Jackson once would have found appealing if he wasn't so exhausted (or sitting next to April) "Come on" and then she ran off again.

Jackson shook his head. "Hey" he said as sudden inspiration called to him. "Let's go for a drink tonight. It's been a long day and someone should celebrate the fact that you beat all of us, let's go get some dinner as well" April stared at him for a second and then nodded her face splitting into a relieved smile. Jackson realised that nobody had been particularly pleased with her being chosen and that he was probably the first person to congratulate her.

"I'd love to" she said allowing Jackson to take her by the hand and pull her to her feet. There was a second where they stood there holding hands before they let go and Jackson hoped that April didn't realise that his heart seemed to be beating rather fast. Perhaps he should go get himself checked out?

* * *

Hugo had been microwaving some noodles when Meredith came in with a baby in her arms. He had known of course that she and Derek were adopting but he didn't realise that it would be happening so quickly. They stared at each other Meredith looking exhausted and what seemed like close to tears and then Hugo smiled. "So is this Zola?" he said coming round the counter.

The baby grinned at him her hand flaying. "Yeah, I'm Uncle Hugo" Hugo said seriously. "Believe me when the madness of this place gets to you, you come to me and I'll take care of it" Meredith let out a little noise and Hugo took a step back. "You want me to bring you something?" he asked finally but Meredith shook her head. "I just wanna be alone for a little while" she said truthfully.

Hugo nodded even though he didn't understand. "Ok" he said finally. "I'll keep the noise down"

But she was already gone up the stairs before he'd finished.

Something was wrong and Hugo couldn't but his fingers on it, but it didn't matter. He didn't want to think about it anymore, he was so emotionally drained with the drama's that came with the people that lived in this house that he didn't think he could stand another one.

However said a voice in his head that sounded a little bit like Uncle Charles, would you have your life any other way?

No, Hugo realised. No he wouldn't.

 _"_ _I won_ _'_ _t just survive. Oh you will see me thrive_ _"_

* * *

 **Next Chapter-8x01-Free Falling-As Meredith fights to save her marriage, April steps up as Chief Resident and Webber makes a decision, also while he's babysitting Zola, Hugo gets an offer that he cannot refuse while Jackson certainly can.**

 **I will update as soon as i can. Hope you all enjoyed.**


	43. 8x01-Free Falling

**Hi so here is another chapter, this one is a little bit shorter but I wanted to turn the events away from Meredith and Derek and focus on something happy and positive.**

 **Aidan Blackwood who is Hugo's best friend has rather grown on me as a character, when I first introduced him so consider this chapter his update to 'Staring' rather than 'Guest'.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 43-8x01-Free Falling

As Meredith fights to save her marriage, April steps up as Chief Resident and Webber makes a decision, also while he's babysitting Zola, Hugo gets an offer that he cannot refuse while Jackson certainly can.

* * *

The next morning was quiet. Well it was as quiet as Hugo Avery's morning could ever be when he lived in a house full of surgeons and was best friends with Aidan Blackwood. Alex had left and Derek hadn't come home. It was clear that you didn't speak of it. His Dad and April hadn't come home at all, they had gone out for dinner and a drink and then had been called back in three hours later. At least, Hugo thought bitterly as he had gone to sleep, he knew they had both ate something.

Meredith had left him with Zola while she took a shower and Hugo was just forcing Zola to eat her pudding when Aidan came in. He looked from Zola to Hugo in confusion.

"I was gone for twenty four hours" he said looking surprised. "I thought you didn't have any plans to follow in Daddy's footsteps"

Hugo covered Zola's eyes with one hand and flipped Aidan off with the other.

"It's Meredith and Derek's adopted daughter" he said pulling Zola out of the high chair and onto his hip. "Zola this is Aidan, he's an idiot but he means well" Aidan gave Zola a look. "Yeah I don't want kids" he said shaking his head and then promptly sitting down at the table. "April work the late shift" he said looking around. Hugo looked at him in surprise. Aidan was more of a three cups of coffee before he realised what was going on around him in the morning kind of guy.

"Yeah" he said suspiciously. "How'd ya know?"

"No food" Aidan said simply. "I need to ask you a favour" he said looking down.

"Is it your Dad?" Hugo asked. He knew Aidan well enough to know that he didn't have a good relationship with either of his parents. His mother had had him while she was working and so had his Dad and they had both given up promotions to raise him. Aidan never talked about it but he knew that his father had given up more than his mother and had never let him forget it.

"Yeah" Aidan said cracking his neck from side to side. "I need a place to stay...I...I don't want to go home...and he doesn't want me to go home" he caught Hugo's eye. "He told me" he said and Hugo rolled his eyes.

"I don't control who lives here" he said finally. "I'd let you kip on the floor you know I would but...Meredith...Derek really won't like it"

"Derek won't like what?" said a voice behind them and then jumped to see Meredith standing there. "Aidan moving in" Hugo said letting her take Zola. "He's...well his Dad's a dick" he said finally.

"He doesn't like me because I ruined his career" Aidan said finally.

Something flickered across Meredith's expression then. "Aidan" she said finally. "You can move in. In fact" she said ignoring their expressions. "You can take either Hugo's room or Alex's room, which ever one you want, and I don't want rent, what I do want is you both to behave, no parties, no swearing, drinking, drugs or girls"

Aidan nodded looking stunned, Hugo imagined that was the look on his face as well. Meredith caught their expressions and rolled her own eyes. "You know I'm not evil" she said with a hint of a smile "And I too had a mother that didn't want me"

* * *

"No" Jackson said once Hugo had told him. He looked from his son to his best friend and then shook his head. "No, you two will only share a house when I want to see that house in flames"

"Meredith says it's ok" Hugo said grinning.

Cristina who was at the nurses station snorted into her charts. "Meredith has survived a bomb, a shooter, a drowning and more romantic entanglements than I can count, she's not the best judge of what's right" she shook her head eyed Aidan up and down and then turned away.

Jackson pointed at her. "See" he said.

Hugo cocked his head giving Jackson that look that had once a long time ago ensured that he got cookies and ice cream and one more chapter of Harry Potter before bed. Jackson sighed. He liked Aidan he did, he also knew that there was some problems at home that Hugo had always managed to keep just out of his line of interest but he knew that if Aidan moved in the responsibility for him would shift to him and Jackson barely had time to look after his own kid let alone someone else's.

There was a second where he stared at them. in truth he didn't have room to act, he knew that it was Meredith's house and Meredith's decision but it cemented the fact that he needed to move out of the house and find his own place...and soon.

"Ugh" he said waving them away "Fine"

Aidan and Hugo high fived each other and Jackson didn't have time to realise that Hugo's arms had wrapped around his waist briefly in a way that he never usually did in public with his best friend there. They ran off together laughing and chatting and Jackson shook his head and turned to see April watching him with a warm expression.

"I never had that" he said finally. "I had Hugo, I never had...friends..." it was true. He had a kid when he was Hugo's age, he had a name that made it difficult for friends to come over. April patted him on the arm. "I need to get my own place" he said turning back to the charts. April stared at him. "Have you told Lexie?" she said turning her head. "Does she know that with you know comes two children?"

"Teenagers" Jackson corrected. April still shot him a look that said she wasn't buying his bullshit. Damn.

"Tell Lexie" she said "If you're going to move in with her" her voice was gently and a little bit wistful. Or was he imagining things?

"Who said I was moving in with Lexie? It's not that serious, not enough where I want to upend my entire life, not yet anyway" he said ducking back to his charts. He missed the small smile that came and went on April's face quickly.

"Oh" she said smiling. "Good"

* * *

 **Next Chapter-8x02-She's Gone-Hugo helps Aidan move into the house, Cristina nearly kills Alex and Jackson watches as Meredith and Derek lose their daughter.**

 **Let me know what you think.**

 **(The next chapter might be a bit short. I'm just warning you)**

 **I will update as soon as I am able. **


	44. 8x02-She's Gone

**Hi, so here is another chapter, again this one is short and I think the next one is as well so there's that.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

 **And a little spoiler not on the last episode of Grey's. Yay Alex is off the hook, Yay I know re-like DeLuca, and Wow. Bailey got rid of Grey, is it just me or is this season of Grey's more excitable than the last?**

 **And also for any readers that don't know Grey's Anatomy has been renewed for a Season 14.**

 **Enjoy the Chapter.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 44-8x02-She's Gone

Hugo helps Aidan move into the house, Cristina nearly kills Alex and Jackson watches as Meredith and Derek lose their daughter.

* * *

"I don't believe this" Derek Shepherd said for the ninth time that day or at least it seemed. He had just got out of surgery where his patient had nearly died twice, Meredith wasn't speaking to him and Jackson knew his adoption agent was looking for him, it went without saying that he was not in a good mood. Jackson didn't know what to say. He wasn't particularly happy about the fact that Aidan was now living with them either. He knew that Aidan while essentially a good kid was a little loud...that was one of the nicer words that Jackson could use because right now he didn't think that Derek would appreciate 'Crazy'.

"He's a good kid" he said finally. "He's a little...loud but..."

"Strays" Derek shouted loudly prowling up and down the nurse's station waving his chart around. Jackson thought that he might be beheaded if he spoke again and decided to focus his attention on the spot just behind Derek. This sight consisted of April talking to Lexie. Lexie was pretty he thought to himself, he did have a pretty girlfriend...but...April, he thought to himself as Derek finally finished his ranting and finally allowed him space to breath for the first time in about an hour, should really tie her hair back a bit more.

Ok so Jackson couldn't blame Derek for being unhappy really he couldn't. "Oh look on the bright side" came a voice to his left and he turned to see April handing over her chart to the nurse with a pleasant smile. "It's his best friend. Suppose it was his girlfriend? Think how many patients you might have endangered wondering if your son is really sleeping in the next room next to her"

"April I think I might puke" Jackson said cringing. April laughed the sound lighting up the nurse's station. He found that he was smiling too, despite the rather graphic image of his baby that he really didn't want to see.

"When's Aidan officially moving in?" she asked turning to grab another chart. "Today" Jackson said shaking his head. "I'm gonna come home and make sure that they've actually unpacked and there's not a pile of large boxes stuck against the walls that someone is going to trip over and break their neck on the shoes of the newest member of this household that will somehow become my responsibility"

April laughed one more time and there was a second where they stood there like idiots staring at each other and smiling before Jackson realised that they both had jobs, you know what with that giant sinkhole that was swallowing up most of the city and the was sheepherding thousands of patients their way.

* * *

Hugo meanwhile had been lugging heavy boxes up at least two flights of stairs while he noticed irritably Aidan had sat sipping hot chocolate at the entrance to the room. Hugo considered it grossly unfair that Aidan got Alex's old room while he still had a smaller room. Granted his room was quite good, he had a double bed, a closet and access to space that managed to keep him from going insane but Alex's room had more access to the bathroom and a bigger bed.

"You could help you know" he said dumping Aidan's stuff in the corner and then sitting down on the edge of the doorway. Aidan shrugged holding out the marshmallow bag and Hugo took one. There was a second where they sat there, then Aidan shrugged, when his voice came out it was smaller and trying to be strong. Hugo knew this as the voice where Aidan was trying to be strong when he clearly didn't have a clue what was going to happen next.

Hugo knocked his knee against his best friend and got a week smile in return. They stayed there for a very long time. At least until his Dad came home with April and told them very quietly to get their coats, they were going out for dinner no arguments.

It wasn't until during dinner, or at least when the four of them sat down, that Hugo and Aidan learned why they had been pulled out of the house so early. It didn't help them eat much whatsoever. Because baby Zola was gone.

* * *

Jackson had really tried to not be at the nurses station when the social worker took baby Zola away. He really had. But Sloan had dumped a load of charts on him since he had a sudden need to go and take his own daughter home and Jackson really hadn't had the heart to say no.

"It's terrible," April said from where she was standing next to him finishing her own charts. Jackson nodded. Terrible was one word for it. They had no idea if they were going to see their daughter again and it had been through no fault of their own either.

"I used to have nightmares about that" he said. April didn't look at him but Jackson knew she was listening. "I was fifteen, my girlfriend was dead and my kid was in the ICU and one morning this social worker turns up at the hospital. The school had reported me because I had been missing so much time watching Hugo fight for his life" he shook his head. "My Mom made them clear off but…it stays with you when something like that happens, you keep wondering if it's gonna happen again…a knock at the door and then your whole lives over"

April stared at him then her eyes wide and Jackson realised that he had never told anyone that particular part of his past. He shrugged dumping the charts on the table and deciding if there was ever a night to let the interns do something this was it. More surprisingly April followed suit.

"Come on" she said shaking out her hands. "Let's go home, pick up the boys and go out…you can check on Hugo and…and we can give Meredith and Derek some privacy. Plus you know we have that whole fifth year paper coming up. We might not get a chance to go out for a long time once that starts"

Jackson nodded. And with that they left Meredith and Derek in an empty room to grieve in private the loss of the family that they had both wanted. It wasn't until much later when Meredith was locked in her bedroom alone that Jackson checked in on the boys. They were both asleep in Alex's room, Aidan slumped on the bed and Hugo half on half off. They looked like kids again not the two men that Jackson knew them to be and as Jackson turned off the TV it was with a sick sense of finality felt by parents everywhere that came with the knowledge that all children-including yours had to grow up.

* * *

 **Next Chapter-8x03-Take The Lead-As April struggles to become Chief Resident, Hugo and Aidan try to watch a surgery and Aidan and Derek have a moment when the former sees the later struggling in the wake of Baby Zola's departure. April and Aidan's point of view.**

 **And let me know what you think.**

 **I will update as soon as I can. **


	45. 8x03-Take The Lead

**Hi, so here is another chapter, I will keep this short and sweet and let you get on reading it.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine just Hugo and Aidan.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

 **For those of you who wish so dearly to see the cracks in Lexie and Jackson's relationship I can promise you that this is coming very soon.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 45-8x03-Take The Lead

As April struggles to become Chief Resident, Hugo and Aidan try to watch a surgery and Aidan and Derek have a moment when the former sees the later struggling in the wake of Baby Zola's departure. April and Aidan's point of view.

* * *

The second that Hugo knew his father had his first solo surgery he knew he was going to be in the OR watching it. The only problem was how to get past the waves of Nurses, fellow Surgeons and more to the point whoever it was in charge of that damn floor to get to a gallery.

That however was what he had Aidan for. The boy was used to crawling and finding ways into the most obscure places that he could ever find and he loved a challenge. And more to the point he loved the sight of blood staining the floor. It was rather worrying how strange his friend was but as Hugo hurriedly explained his plan as they snacked on blueberry bagels, brought in by Meredith who it appeared was compensating Zola's absence by making sure everyone in the house was fed and in some cases overfed. Zola was a topic that was not to be discussed, all the residents both young and old had learned that from the very first second they had stepped into the house after that night that it was a topic that was never brought up.

"Should be fun" Aidan said grinning wolfishly and taking another lob of butter and spreading it on the bagel in front of him. Hugo nodded pouring them both a top of up of their coffee. He at least had it with milk, Aidan the heathen had it black with sugar for reasons that Hugo had yet to understand.

"You know what the surgery is?" Aidan asked casually biting into his bagel. There was a second where they stared at each other and then Aidan put down his breakfast and stared at him for an even longer second. "You don't have a fucking clue do you?"

"Language" came a voice from behind them and they both turned to see Derek coming into the kitchen in his pyjama pants and his hair mused up. Aidan turned to Hugo and he knew that they were both thinking the same thing. Even though Derek Shepherd was still grieving, even though he was tired and had been working all night he was still the most attractive man that either one of them had close proximity to and it was just not fair. Both of them knew that they would never look like _that_ in the morning. "Sorry" Aidan said but Derek just scowled and pulled away grabbing the nearest mug and the coffee pot.

"Were gonna go to the hospital today" Hugo said in a rather gentle voice as if Derek was an unexploded bomb that might be in danger of going off every second. There was a split second where Derek stared at them and then shrugged.

"Can we go and watch a surgery?" Aidan asked. Hugo shot him a look that was wide and wondering what the hell he was up to. Aidan shot him a look back telling him to shut up. Derek grunted.

"Can we tell the nurses that you gave us your permission?" Aidan asked again. Another grunt. Aidan nodded as Derek left the kitchen looking as if he had no clue where he was going.

"You know he had no idea what the hell you were saying" Hugo said feeling and sounding he knew distinctly unimpressed. Aidan shrugged. "You wanted me to find you a way in" was all he said. Hugo rolled his eyes and then grabbed another bagel. There was a second where he stared at the food in front of him and then stared up at the kitchen window. "Are we going to go right now?" he asked and Aidan shot him a look. "If you don't want the last bagel just say so, but fair warning I don't think I can move right now"

* * *

As it turns out it was rather easy to get into an OR gallery. That he supposed didn't really bode well should something happen. Hugo didn't know what the surgery was and was already sat in the OR patiently waiting when Aidan came in complete with what looked like two coffees and some popcorn. Hugo shot his best friend another look.

"It's a baby" he said as Aidan leaned forwards. "Huh" Aidan said leaning back. "And here I thought it was gonna be a boob job. I'm surprised. I thought you said that was all Sloan did?"

There was a bizarre choking noise behind them and they both turned in a horrible tandem to see Mark Sloan watching them from the doorway. "I" he said with a sort of desperate dignity. "Do more than boob jobs, and..." he said as if realising something "If you're Dad sees you here and something goes wrong he might scar this kid for life"

"Shit" Hugo said taking a long drag of his coffee. "I didn't think about that" Sloan very pointedly looked towards the door. "Seriously?" Aidan said eyeing the doctor with distaste. "We can't see someone get cut open? Dude I don't have anywhere else to go and very little in my life to look forwards too"

Hugo rolled his eyes at his best friend's melodrama. Sloan stared at him and Hugo shrugged, Sloan nodded. "I hear you" he said taking another look at the OR down below them. "I suppose that if you want to see a surgery Meredith Grey is next door poking around in someone's brain and nobody would care if you were watching"

Aidan turned to Hugo. "I could go for that" he said. Hugo considered if for a second and then he nodded. "Let's go" and with that they both rushed off.

* * *

Mark shook his head and sat down in one of the seats that had just been vacating. He looked down at Avery who was still staring at the kid and then caught Arizona's eyes. He wasn't kidding when he had told Baby Avery and Baby Avery's Best Friend that this was a dangerous surgery to watch, plastics wasn't something to mess around with and there was a very good chance that Avery would have done something stupid had he known his son was watching. And if it had gone wrong...well he didn't know what that would do for Avery's confidence if his son saw it all come crashing down. But Arizona was now looking at him with panic in her wide blue eyes and Mark understood that that he was to get down to the OR, and save Avery now...

* * *

After a rather compelling surgery Aidan thought in which there was a slight hiccup considering the fact that the couple in whose house he was now living in seemed to be falling apart at the seams but he had to admit that the entire thing was rather impressive.

There was...something about seeing an open brain that made it more compelling. Aidan could kinda understand why people dedicated their lives to studying numbers and scans and pictures of arguably the most dangerous and unpredictable thing that was in your body.

Hugo had buggered off to find his father and Aidan had decided to wait patiently by the big board and see what was going on. He didn't want to intrude on whatever was going on between father and son not when it seemed that that surgery might have gone wrong. Plus...there was the whole dying kid's thing.

"Don't think I didn't see you in there" came a voice behind him and he turned to see Derek Shepherd standing behind him with a rather grumpy expression.

"I've never seen a human brain before" Aidan said feeling rather defensive. "Will he be alright?"

"I think so" Derek said looking between Aidan and the board.

"How do you do that?" he said turning to the older man. "How do you get to poke around in someone's brains?"

Derek looked rather surprised by the question. "You study" he said finally. "You study hard, math, science, the human body. You work your ass off and you let no one get in your way"

Aidan nodded once. "I am grateful to your wife for letting me stay" he said quietly. "I know that it's an issue for you"

Derek sighed rolling his eyes once. "Ha" he said once. "With my wife I'm amazed you didn't move in years ago, still..." he rubbed his hands together as if the idea was the only thing that kept him sane. "I'm building a house, far, far away from all you, and if you turn up invited planning to stay in any house of mine other than the one you're in right now I will cause you nothing but pain and sorrow"

Aidan blinked. "Fair enough" he said nodding even though he didn't have a clue what he was nodding about. Derek shot him another look. "Tonight I'll give you a medical journal with an article on how brain tumours form if you want" Aidan nodded because surprisingly he did want that.

Derek nodded and then walked away. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask about Zola but somehow Aidan didn't think that he should ruin such a good moment by reminding Derek of his problems. Yes, perhaps it was better to just let the man walk away.

* * *

April was just packing up her locker when Jackson swung by to ask if she wanted a drink. "You're not going with Lexie?" she asked in surprise. Jackson rolled his eyes and shook his head. "She's got rounds tonight" was all he said. "I think Meredith and Derek might be at their boiling point as well" he said cautiously "I don't think we want to go home tonight so I think maybe a burger at Joe's will be enough"

April nodded refusing to acknowledge that she was rather pleased that he had asked her. They were giving Meredith and Derek privacy after all.

"So Hunt's the new Chief" she said slinging her coat on. "Yeah" Jackson said sounding surprised now that there surgeries were over.

"And you didn't get to operate" she said. Jackson stared at her with a sort of pleading look she had never seen on his face before, it was rather unnerving.

"You won't tell Hugo or Aidan will you? Somehow I think they were trying to sneak in and see it but thankfully someone stopped them"

April knew that they actually had snuck in to see Meredith's surgery and she was willing to bet they had been in Jackson's and had somehow been kicked out but decided not to mention it. There were more important things to worry about than what had took place today and who might have seen what.

"Ok" she said finally. "I wont tell them"

Jackson smiled at her showing off all of his dimples and she grinned. "Come on" she said pulling at his arm to get him to hurry up. "If we don't leave soon the boys will beat us to Joe's and knowing their ability to cause mischief from everything you have told me I wouldn't put it past them to have already tried to get whoever's working tonight to get them drinks"

Jackson considered this and then nodded. That was probably true.

"Come on" he said letting her walk first. "I'll take the lead this time"

* * *

 **And let me know what you think.**

 **I'll update as soon as I can.**

 **Next Chapter-8x04-What Is It About Men-Ben returns, Jackson finds himself torn between Derek and Mark as they begin a fight over him and also worried when he hears that April was nearly hurt. Hugo wants to bang out his frustrations over Charlotte's move away and her new boyfriend and Aidan thinks the whole thing is hilarious.**


	46. 8x04-What Is It About Men

**Hi, so here is another chapter hope you all enjoy.**

 **And a little spoiler for the last episode...Yay April, God I hate Maggie and while I love Meredith I do think it was nice to see April earn a little bit of an increase in her work.**

 **This chapter was a nightmare to write and i'm still not sure of it so please read and let me know what you think.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 46-8x04-What Is It About Men

Ben returns, Jackson finds himself torn between Derek and Mark as they begin a fight over him and also worried when he hears that April was nearly hurt. Hugo wants to bang out his frustrations over Charlotte's move away and her new boyfriend and Aidan thinks the whole thing is hilarious.

* * *

Jackson had opened the door to his bedroom leaving a sleeping Lexie in the bed naked and then nearly fallen over the body of something hard but tall that was in the way.

"Shit...Aidan what the hell?"

It was still freaking dark outside. There was a second where he stared at Aidan who was sat opposite the bathroom door with what looked like a medical journal in his lap and his IPhone torch on. Aidan looked at him with wide eyes that were creepily large in the dark and then ducked his head down. He was in his checked pyjamas and old shirt with what looked like a band logo on it.

If Jackson hadn't nearly broken his neck tripping over the boy he wouldn't have believed it. Jackson usually had to stand over Hugo playing music very, very loudly to get him to open even one eye in the morning and Aidan was just as bad. So to find him here at an hour which he didn't think either his son or his best friend had learned the art of getting up early just to scare everyone living in the house. Aidan looked at him again before turning to his medical journal which Jackson could see in the light showed a picture of a human brain with arrows pointing to the different area's, he was even more surprised to see the notebook next to Aidan covered in his scrawls.

"Morning" was all Aidan could say.

"It's five in the morning and I have a shift in an hour so why the hell are you sat out here when you have a room that you don't pay rent for?"

Aidan shot him a look and then jerked his head to the bathroom. "Hugo's trying to drown himself in the shower, that or he's hacking into some sort of intelligence agency"

"Why?" Jackson asked. Aidan gave a long suffering sigh and cracked his neck from side to side. "He found out about an hour ago that Charlotte has a new boyfriend in her new school and he woke me up because...well...he's evil"

"Charlotte has a new...hang on I thought Hugo was ok with that? It's not like they were dating was it?"

"No" Aidan said turning back to his book. "When you imagine a date you...well imagine a date I don't think that making out on a couch consists of that" he shook her head as Jackson pulled a face at the image.

"This time she's really interested in this one and while Hugo might not have feelings for her I think he's hurt that she fell through on her promise to you know...tell Hugo what was going on and their promise to be friends because he saved her life or...yeah" Aidan shrugged and Jackson groaned. The door next to them opened and Derek Shepherd came out looking rather happy and healthy at what was a horrifically unreasonable time.

"Good Morning" he said smiling at them both. There was a click of the door and then Hugo walked out of the bathroom looking annoyed. "I'm going to build my deck"

"Is that euphemism for something?" Aidan asked innocently. Hugo snorted. "No, I'm building a house" Derek said smiling brightly. "I am building a house for my family and you are all welcome to help" and with that it was the last thing he said before he turned and walked down the stairs.

"Hey do you wanna talk?" Jackson asked turning to Hugo.

"Nope" Hugo said forcing a smile on his face. "I did nothing wrong"

"Neither did she" Aidan pointed out.

"No she didn't" Hugo said slamming the door shut with enough force that Jackson heard Lexie swear from the bedroom.

"But neither did I and if she wants to go on a date and not tell me...not that she had too then that is her right and so can I"

"Good" Aidan said shooting another long suffering kind of look in Jackson's direction.

* * *

And that was the start to what seemed like the longest, complicated week in Jackson's long life. And as someone who had lived through both his internship, residency and the whole teething stage of a child's life that was saying something.

Working under Sloan at times were tense sometimes. While the man himself had moved on there was the tension between them that came from the form of Lexie and the fact that they had both slept with her. There was also the fact that Sloan didn't teach unless he had to and had always told Jackson that even when he was a younger resident.

But Derek Shepherd had also been head hunting for a new resident. In order to save her marriage Meredith had took a step back from the Nuro program and therefore Derek was on the hunt for someone new. As they didn't have to declare a final preference until the New Year Jackson knew that many of them had already chosen their specialty but it was all still up for grabs.

And...And Derek was letting him do things in his surgery. He was letting him do the big stuff, the stuff that he actually had to go and research which he hadn't done since he was at Mercy West. And he couldn't help but think that...that was a good thing, he was finally doing something at least something that he could he go home and tell everyone about. When he got home and Lexie asked how his day was then he finally had something to say about it.

That was why he followed Derek, Owen and Ben who was now back to the deck at night. It was rather soothing really. To hammer something into submission, to actually have control. That was good. Sometimes he imagined it was Mark's face for refusing to allow him into a surgery but most of the time it was his own for feeling constantly stuck and lethargic in a job where he couldn't afford to think that.

And that was even before the comic-con debacle that happened the day after.

But one should have never underestimated the power of Mark Sloan on a mission.

* * *

Hugo and Aidan had only been in the hospital for a check up on Hugo's father for Hugo and a check on the OR board out of what seemed like a steadily growing interest for Aidan. Aidan himself had pushed for the move only because it seemed like it was the only way he could get Hugo away from his phone long enough for him to notice where they were.

"Good Morning" Derek said a little spring in his step that made Aidan feel insanely unfair. It really wasn't fair to look that attractive after getting up at what felt like a horrific hour in the morning. Hugo grunted still staring at his phone. Aiden rolled his eyes and gave the doctor a smile.

"You guys wanna come to the deck tonight, Jackson's coming to hammer away some of his tensions, your'll find that it's a big de-stresser" Hugo blinked. "Dad is helping you build a deck?" he asked with a tone that would have been brilliant if Derek had just implied that Jackson had just danced his way out of a ten layer cake in the middle of a heart transplant.

"Yeah, and possibly rethinking his career in plastics" Derek said and then he practically danced away.

Hugo blinked. "I let him out of my sight for three hours" he said in a sort of deadened tone. "And now he's building a deck, you wanna go see it?" Aidan stared at him and then said with the tone of someone still adjusting to the insanity that was this hospital. "Well I aint missing this"

And that was how Hugo and Aidan had found themselves at a deck.

* * *

The next morning Jackson was pissed, cold, sore and in a dire need of a strong cup of coffee. The previous night had consisted of Aidan and Hugo watching them build a deck while Ben moaned about Miranda, Owen moaned about the job and Derek seemed to be the happy gremlin in the corner watching the chaos unfold. The only good thing that had come out of last night is that Hugo hadn't mentioned Charlotte once. While he wanted to help his son Jackson supposed one of the best reasons why Aidan was now living with them was that he could tackle some of the more...sensitive problems that Hugo didn't want his father to know about.

But there was laughter in the kitchen.

Aidan and Hugo were sat drinking coffee. They had abandoned the pretence of breakfast and were instead munching their way through a giant chocolate cheesecake that certainly hadn't been there the other night.

"Sloan's courting you again did you have a fight?" Hugo said grinning. "Your boyfriend is really trying to hit us where it hurts doesn't it" it wasn't a question and Jackson scowled. "Don't call him that and there's...nothing wrong with me and Sloan"

Hugo shot him a deeply distrustful look.

* * *

For most of the day Jackson was in surgery and it wasn't until he got out that he had heard about the skirmish between April and the patient. Granted she was unhurt and once Jackson had casually asked her about it over lunch she seemed more than happy to call Hunt her saviour or whatever but...Jackson was still concerned...yeah that was it.

And it was concern that led him back to the deck.

And that was what led him back to Mark Sloan.

"You're stealing my guy" came the shout. "Oh boy" Hugo said from where he and Aidan were sitting on the small table. Out of sake for his sanity and Derek's deck Jackson had banned both of them from going near any tools but they both seemed content to sit and watch.

"Avery get in the car" the man yelled. If he was going for fear then carrying Sofia in his arms was really not doing it.

Derek and Jackson both stared as Mark began pacing. Jackson wondered if this whole thing with Lexie had finally forced the man round the bend.

"Avery, Baby Avery, Baby Avery's Best Friend or Boyfriend or Whatever go get in the car"

Aidan spat a mouthful of his water across the deck. Hugo winced. Jackson could just feel all the capitals in that sentence.

Finally after explaining that he really did want to study plastics Jackson had also been banished to the bench with Ben, Alex who he had dragged along and the boys to watch Mark and Derek talk Owen walking Sofia around to calm her down.

"What do you think there talking about?" Jackson asked dreading the answer.

"Who gets to take you to the prom?" Ben suggested innocently. Hugo and Alex snorted. Aidan poor misguided child that he was Jackson thought still looked rather shocked by the fast paced turn of events that happened at the hospital and included it's staff.

"Don't worry" Hugo said catching on immediately and nudging his shoulder against his friends. Whatever had happened with Charlotte and had made him upset had gone away and it made Jackson glad.

"You get use to the crazy around here"

* * *

 **And let me know what you think.**

 **I'll update as soon as I can.**

 **Next Chapter-8x05-Love, Loss And Legacy-Catherine Avery descends into the hospital, Jackson, Hugo and Aidan get an eyeful when they realize what she is trying to do and Derek and Meredith here worrying news about Zola. **


	47. 8x05-Love, Loss And Legacy

**Hi, so here is another chapter, this one does bring back the always memorable Catherine Avery and does bring up a little of what went down with Zola. To be honest this was one of those episodes that still to this day was difficult to watch. Along with 8x02 and that episode in Season 11 that we all know and hate in someway.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review and let me know what you think.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 47-8x05-Love, Loss And Legacy

Catherine Avery descends into the hospital, Jackson, Hugo and Aidan get an eyeful when they realize what she is trying to do and Derek and Meredith here worrying news about Zola.

* * *

"It's really sad that we don't have anything else to do but go to work with your Dad and Grandma" Aidan said one morning as they were in the car heading to the hospital. April who had caught a ride with them shot them both, Hugo and Aidan in the backseat a look of incredulity, she had been the one that had insisted in stopping for food on the way and it had only been Jackson that had stopped his best friend from bringing the last of Sloan's cheesecake and last night's cold pizza with them in the car.

Ok so coffee and croissants were not great but at least they were warm.

Hugo took another huge bite of his chocolate croissant and shrugged. "Why is she coming down?" he asked his tone taking a suspicious line. "And don't say it's for a case, it never is with her. She wants to know something" he shot his father another look and then exchanged a grin with his best friend.

"Nothing" Jackson said as April laughed. He felt personally victimised but he couldn't help but wonder what storm clouds were bringing his mother to him. He knew she had moles all over this hospital it was a miracle she didn't work there with him.

Personal space and Catherine Avery had not always gone together very well.

It was a little bit like the titanic and the ice burg.

Anyway Jackson parked in the car park and opened the door for the boys to crawl out. It would be the first time Aidan had had the pleasure (or horror) of meeting his mother and Jackson didn't want him to miss a thing. Neither did Hugo, which he supposed was the reason why they were here.

I think that she's got some insane surgery and that's why she's calling an assembly" April said practically skipping into the locker room. Hugo shot a look at Aidan who rolled his eyes. "Well it's six thirty in the morning" he hissed as Jackson watched him, "So something better be hanging off someone. Like their intestines falling into some gullible intern's hands" he looked positively gleeful at the end of that sentence.

Was it really so wrong that Jackson actually did like the sound of that?

They took their seats once they'd changed. Hugo and Aidan had gone and grabbed coffee and waiting Jackson dreading the inevitable. Knowing his mother this was bound to be a good show.

Alex bolted in the first ten minutes and then his mother swept onto the stage looking resplendent with some poor guinea pig that looked to be her test subject. Poor bloke looked terrified and hopelessly awkward and Jackson couldn't blame him. In fact he didn't look much older than he did.

He listened with growing confusion and then interest as his mother explained what had happened to Ryan and then in disbelief as Ryan dropped his robe. A dick transplant really? This was what his mother had brought the first time she visited him in a year? Was this normal mother behaviour?

"Holy mother of God" he heard Aidan say behind him and he rolled his eyes.

His Mom was really getting into this. "Now who wants to help me?" she cried in some sort of girl empowerment way that made Jackson pray for a black hole to come and swallow him up. Why, why couldn't he have had a normal parent?

Everyone including Hugo and Aidan put up their hands. Jackson mentally despaired.

* * *

As it turns out his mother was here for a poke in their private lives. She had ascertained that he was to thin and that he wasn't getting enough sleep. Had said that Hugo looked underfed and then when Aidan had introduced himself had said that she had ways of getting rid of anyone who jeopardised Hugo's chances of medical school.

Aidan looked stunned and more than a little awed. Hugo looked the same as Jackson felt.

And then she started asking questions about Lexie.

Was it possible for someone to die of embarrassment?

As God as his witness he had never been more happy to see Mark Sloan in his life.

* * *

Jackson was later sat in the surgery lab watching his friends operate on their plastic...parts of the male anatomy...yeah that was the only way this didn't sound horrific in his head. This was his mother for the love of all that was good and holy. Jackson couldn't bear the thought of her walking around admiring the work his colleagues...hell April was doing, sat next to him her red hair falling over her shoulders and her face caught up in a frown that made her look rather...no... _Bad_ Jackson.

In the end he gave up. He'd be scrubbing in with his mother of that he had no doubt. The only thing that didn't matter was that Jackson was going in as Sloan's second surgeon after he had all but threatened to pull his support from plastics and turn it to neurosurgery. It was only the threat of imagining the gloating that Derek would put him through that somehow made Mark sign him up on the board before his mother could get her hands on the pen.

He had tried. The Lord knew he had tried to get Hugo and Aidan banned from the gallery but his mother had insisted that Hugo get the chance to see a once in a lifetime surgery and after Aidan had explained the circumstances that had led to him staying with Hugo (which Jackson was willing to bet had reminded his mother most unpleasantly of his father) she had decided she liked Aidan and he could see it as well.

April was assisting his mother a fact that made him more nervous that April it seemed. Hugo and Aidan were sat in the front of the gallery and Jackson was relieved to see they had abided by his mother's wishes of no filming this thing. The last thing he or the patient needed was a video of a person flat-lining on the table going viral.

And then like Jackson had predicted with a sense of foreboding all day. It all went to shit.

He didn't blame April for screwing up even if it was a big mistake, operating next to his mother wasn't something that happened very often and it was a complex surgery. April he knew had no interest in plastics or urology which was what this surgery combined. She was interested in either general or trauma and Jackson knew that because she told him. She was out of her comfort zone a little which once again made Jackson wonder why the hell his mother had picked her.

Somehow, some way Mark had managed to get the surgery to go his way. He and Jackson raced against the clock to find a way to make the vein they needed pink again and then there it was. The first penial transplant. It would have been great to be on such a landmark surgery if it hadn't been his mother's beaming face he had seen opposite it.

* * *

"That was pretty cool" Aidan said as they all met up in the car park. For some reason his mother had insisted April come as well and Jackson was right back to where he started wishing the floor would swallow him up.

"It was wasn't it" his mother said without waiting for an answer. "Come on, I'm buying us all dinner and a few drinks"

Aidan and Hugo got into the cab. His mother always drove fancy in her Jag when she was putting on a good show but she was still intimidating Cab drivers to knock her some money of the bill, Jackson thought irritably. She pointedly raised an eyebrow for April to get in and looking surprised April climbed in.

"You know" his Mom said to him with a rather thoughtful look on her face.

"I think you've built a nice little family. This Lexie better be as brilliant as Mark Sloan says she is"

Jacksons stared at her and then mentally counted to ten before he slid into the car. It was going to be a long night fuelled with booze.

But he didn't register until later what she had said.

Later consisted of when they were filled in on the story of baby Zola and the pain Meredith and Derek had gone through, before Lexie returned and Mark's feelings became clear even though he was dating someone else, but when he did think about it he supposed he always knew the _meaning_ behind what she said.

But in all honesty. That is a story for another time.

* * *

 **Next Chapter-8x06-Poker Face-April steps up as Chief Resident, Jackson attempts to help her but finds himself focused on doing his own work with Sloan and Hugo and Aidan bond with Meredith and Derek respectfully when they realise that the two need to talk about their day but not to each other.**

 **And let me know what you think.**

 **I will update as soon as i can. **


	48. 8x06-Poker Face

**Hi, so here is another chapter, this one is a little bit longer and does give you April's point of view so enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 48-8x06-Poker Face

April steps up as Chief Resident; Jackson attempts to help her but finds himself focused on doing his own work with Sloan. Aidan meanwhile bonds a little with Meredith a little on their respective backgrounds.

* * *

"Mice" Aidan said unblinkingly. "That's what happened all day, you tried to find a way to operate on mice?"

"Well not operate" Meredith said feeling again rather victimised. Honestly. She tried to remind herself that Aidan was a kid and kids had no way of appreciating the fine art of medical science in the progress of being formed but found she could only get the first part of that sentence before she got confused and more than a little annoyed. "I suppose that you don't understand what the hell that means but rather the mice than a human"

Aidan at least seemed to get the meaning of that. It seemed that he and Hugo were trying to keep her and Derek apart, by asking about their day. It was in a vague attempt Meredith knew to release any tension they might feel without going to each other and more to the point she thought to distract them about worrying about Zola. Meredith sighed as she passed the plate of cookies April had made (and really they were in fifth year since when the hell did April have time to make cookies from scratch as well as really nice ones?) across the table and Aidan chewed on one thoughtfully. Meredith took a bite. Damn, they were April's raspberry and chocolate cookies that were the best and great with both coffee and tequila. Would it be immoral to offer a fifteen year old a shot?

Oh yeah. Probably.

"I had a patient today...or well...Derek did" she said finally. "She got her happy ending after months of being told no. It was rather lovely. I keep forgetting that there are good things that happen in that place amidst all the bad"

Aidan stared at her and Meredith remembered the reason why she liked him so much. There was so much of the way that Aidan carried himself that reminded her of herself. That need to protect yourself no matter what the cost was and there was a second where she wanted to hug him. But she reminded herself that he had Hugo. He had a best friend to keep him together and to stop him from getting lonely. She had never had that...at least until she had come here. There had been Sadie but let's face reality there was no way in hell that was a real friendship looking back. Just an excuse to sleep and drink around a continent. Hugo and Aidan thankfully didn't have that same relationship, they at least, didn't have any plans to sleep around Europe. Yet.

Still she bit her lip thinking hard. "I'm glad it's happy ending" Aidan said looking her dead on. "It was a baby and the mother was dying and then Derek...Derek was Derek" she finished lamely. There was a second where Aidan gazed at her with his wide eyes and Meredith knew that he was thinking the exact same thing that she was.

The moment was ruined by Lexie who came downstairs with her hair wet and wearing nothing but a tiny pair of shorts and an old shirt that looked like it had seen better days in Med school. The moment was lost because as soon as she walked in Meredith could see the fifteen year old's eyes wander off to gaze at her sister's leg.

She was just gonna take her cookies and go.

* * *

April was trying to keep up with the demands as Chief Resident. She would admit that once she was off Bailey's trial she could at least focus more on her paper. She had the nice neat little sections on the board and she had her snack draw and her back up snack draw because Cristina had found her original one and she was just settling down to explaining the complex procedures she had done and why that made her a competent surgery when the door opened and Jackson stuck his head in.

"Hey" he said dithering on the doorway in a way that wasn't totally cute (it was) and there was a second where April indulged herself in a moment to admire the fact that he really did have a strong jawline before she pulled herself together.

"Hey" she said smiling back. Jackson gave her that smile again that one that always made April feel like they were on the edge of a cliff and neither one of them were ready to jump off yet even if they both wanted to. Or maybe she was reading too much into it?

Ugh. Feelings.

"I was wondering if you had plans for lunch." Jackson said smiling brightly. April gestured to the entire mountain load of paperwork that was piled neatly next to her. Jackson gave a wince.

"Hey while we I'm here I need to change one of the morning...hey..." he said quickly when he caught the look on April's face which she was willing to bet it wasn't pretty. "Hey I don't do this on purpose you know, only that be three night shifts I'm doing and then sleeping all day and there is the fact that now there's like two kids I have to take care off...or at least make sure that there eating"

April gave what sounded like even to her a long suffering kind of sigh. She knew Jackson was right. Without any warning both Aidan and Hugo had kinda become a shared responsibility for the two of them not that she minded of course, she supposed that Jackson had been doing a lot of the work. She was glad that he'd chosen her to share it with but she couldn't deny that it was a strange feeling almost parenting two kids who weren't biologically hers.

Not that she imagined either one of them saying they needed parenting.

"I can push somethings around" she said finally. Jackson awarded her with another one of those amazing smiles of his that made her stomach go all butterflies for a second until she told herself to pull it together.

"Thanks" he said grinning. "Hey" April said grasping at an opportunity. "You wanna order pizza tonight, the really greasy kind? Boys won't mind"

"Sure" Jackson said grinning. "I don't think Lexie has anything on either"

And just like that the moment was gone.

It was very rare that April Kepner used her power, for she had never had a lot of it but she now had it and she was now going to use it and if that was a bad thing…well…that was between her and God.

"I think she's working late" she said casually. "Oh" Jackson said looking confused. "Ok, she didn't mention it."

"Must have forgot" April said trying to act casual. It must have worked because Jackson gave her another one of those brilliant smiles and then left.

April looked down at the chart of tonight that she was supposed to be doing. It did have Jackson working but she quickly changed the post it to Lexie's name and then opened the door to her office and handed it off to a nurse at the station before she could change her mind.

Well…if that made her a bad person well…well she had a good reason.

And also, in terms of morality she suspected there were quite a few of her friends and colleagues going to hell before she got there so she'd be alright.

Yeah, that was what she was going to tell herself. That and pray that Lexie didn't figure out the reason why she was randomly doing so many night shifts. What was power when you couldn't use it?

And…and April thought of the boys at home and Jackson and the sort of domestication that she had never really seen herself having. If this job got her that for even a brief second then…then…then that power was going to be used .

And there was no way in hell she was going to be ashamed of that.

* * *

 **Next Chapter-8x07-Put Me In Coach-In which there is a baseball game, a fight, Aidan sees cracks in the Jackson/Lexie dynamic and Hugo refuses to get involved...yeah cause that will last.**

 **And let me know what you think.**

 **I do have a tough workload so updates may fall behind for a bit this month. **


	49. 8x07-Put Me In Coach

**Hi so here is another chapter, I apologise for both the shortness and the lateness however it has been a long month with a hell of a lot of deadlines and so this came out.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 49-8x07-Put Me In Coach

In which there is a baseball game, a fight and Aidan who sees the cracks in Jackson and Lexie's relationship however Hugo refuses to get involved...yeah...cause we all know that, that is going to last long.

* * *

The events leading up to this baseball game were not important. Somewhere between his third and fourth swig of whatever it was mixed with coke that was in the hipflask Aidan had smuggled from the kitchen (where Cristina had been making her own cocktail) Hugo had decided that. Somewhere between the fifth and the sixth swig he had decided the only way forward from this problem concerning his father's love life and the fact that he could never seem to switch off his interest with it was to lie down on the pitch and lament to the sky. Or...well...Aidan, who after years of living in a house like his, had built up a higher alcohol tolerance than most fifteen years olds had.

Aidan was watching him with a sort of worn amusement. True, Hugo had been trying (and failing miserably) to forget the entire embarrassing moment when he had believed that his father was going to ask April out, to be happy with April. But...well...they were making it so hard.

First his father had casually mentioned to Alex that he was worried that Lexie was falling for Sloan again, (Aidan had relieved that story to Hugo over marshmallows and the beginning of a long Harry Potter marathon) and then if that wasn't enough April had been rushing one day to work and had come downstairs looking for her comfiest pair of jeans wearing nothing but a shirt that was too large for her that did nothing to hide her legs or the fact that she was wearing black underwear framed with white and Hugo thought his father would have to be airlifted to a secure facility.

That had been one of the few times he had wished he had a camera and a Facebook account that wasn't checked by his father regularly under the guise of 'protection from predators' and it had only served to get worse.

Owen had decided to throw together a baseball game between the surgeons and another hospital. Hugo had only come along because being alone was boring and Aidan liked baseball and the fact that he had been promised that he didn't have to play. Which in hindsight was a shame because he really did like the idea of pretending to be a surgeon far more than what was healthy.

"Sometimes" he said finally staring up at the clouds as Aidan gave up and lay down next to him with another swig of the flask. "I really wish that I could just get on the family plane and fly far, far away from this madness...and if any member of my family would follow then there would be no limits to how strong my wrath would be"

There was a snort by Aidan probably at the use of the word 'wrath'but then there was a pause and Hugo saw out of the corner of his eye his friend turn to him indignation and something that looked a little bit like awe on his face.

"You have a fucking plane?"

Hugo however was distracted by a cloud in what he thought was the shape of a heart. Or maybe he was finally cracking up, he probably did have at least one relative that had gone insane in the past. Maybe he could relocate before that happened. Montana was supposed to be nice in the winter, lots of snow and good coffee that tasted like wood or whatever.

(God he had to stop surfing online to beat insomnia, he really did just have to)

"Yeah" he said trying to figure out what another cloud looked like. Aidan scoffed under his breath muttering darkly. Hugo ignored him focusing more on the ball that was flying overhead.

"Are we winning?" he asked distractedly.

"No" Aidan said after a minute. "We're losing, by a horrific amount if you must know." Hugo shook his head. "That's more your area of expertise" he said finally. "I can't wait for this to be over"

"So you can do what?" Aidan asked passing him the hipflask. "Mope about how April and Jackson are refusing to realise what's in front of them and become 'Japril'?"

"Japril?" Hugo asked shaking his head and taking another swig. "What the hell is that?"

"It' their ship name" Aidan said simply. "It goes rather well don't you think?" Hugo stared at him as another shout came from the nearest Doctor. He pushed himself up on one elbow and saw Miranda Bailey, Meredith and Cristina getting into a row and Webber caught in the middle of it. It seemed that Cristina was following their area of expertise and drinking her way through this entire mess.

Honestly, Hugo did not understand what the hell was the point of this exercise? Why did surgeons need to bond with other surgeons? What was the point of anything that wasn't cutting people open when there was an opportunity to cut people open all day?

Oh shit, the booze was really getting to him now.

"Ship name?" he said finally. "And you call me self-involved" Aidan shot him a poisonous look. "Japril" he said with an air of finality "Will turn out to be nearly as dramatic as Meredith and Derek if you don't get a handle on this. Even I'm now waiting for the moment where either your father or April grab the other and drag them into the nearest on-call room"

At that Hugo took another swig of the hipflask and then nearly choked on whatever it was that he had been steadily drinking for the better part of an hour. A shadow had fallen on them and Hugo and Aidan looked up to see the annoyed figure of Doctor Webber.

"Get up" he said finally turning around to stomp off to the game least Owen explode. "And that had better be gone by the time this game ends or there will hell to pay for the both of you" he was pointing at the flask that Hugo had attempted to hide in the grass.

"Come on" Aidan said standing up. "There's no way in hell that were gonna win this thing but if the ship is going down then we may as well go down with it"

Hugo shook his head more to himself than to Aidan.

"Japril" he muttered to himself seeing his father shoot April another look across the field as she tugged on the end of one end of her plated hair and shaking his head at the obvious and obliviousness that surrounded them. Japril, he thought scathingly.

Like hell was that going to catch on.

* * *

 **I will try and update quicker next time, let me know what you thought of this admittedly not great chapter.**

 **Next Chapter-8x08-Heart Shaped Box-In which there is a medical miracle that commands everyone's attention, Jackson struggles with his decisions regarding his relationships both professionally and personally with Lexie and Sloan and Hugo decides he is a hundred percent done with everyone's crap. **


	50. 8x08-Heart Shaped Box

**Hi so here is another chapter, it is much longer than the one before and while it does focus again on the Hugo/Aidan element I can promise you that the next chapter will have Japril and Hugo/Jackson moments in it especially the upcoming episodes when I can reveal that the whole Hugo thinking Jackson was gonna be with April thing is gonna come out as well as Hugo's view that he cannot have a say in his father's love life.**

 **I wanna say a big thank you to all of you who have read and reviewed and favourited and followed this story. I know I don't say it enough so here it is, Thank You, truly it is reviews like yours and encouragement like yours that keep this story going, thank you to all of you who have stuck with it for so long. I calculated and we have 16 chapters of this story left, don't worry there is more drama to come as we near the end but again, a massive thanks to all of you that have kept this story alive.**

 **Ok so enough distractions, here is the chapter.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine just Hugo and Aidan.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

 **Hopefully I will update as soon as I am able.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 50-8x08-Heart Shaped Box

In which there is a medical miracle that commands everyone's attention, well Hugo and Aidan's anyway and Hugo decides he is one hundred percent done with interfering in his father's love life. Aidan thinks Hugo might be in denial.

* * *

The morning after the game Hugo was tired, a little bit hungover and in desperate need of a shower. Typical it was however that the shower he usually used was occupied. By the sound of laughter it was either Meredith and Derek or his Dad and Lexie and he was privately hoping for the first one because that would be easier on the eyes should he accidently be scared for life.

Instead he turned and forced his way bleary eyed into Aidan's room.

Aidan made a very rude noise as he was disturbed and Hugo came into bed with him. There was a second where they were totally undisturbed when Hugo turned to stare at his best friend and then said under the cover of darkness, or at least semi-darkness he tried to fall back asleep again. That being said, that was hardly possible when one was dealing with Aidan. He turned around to face his best friend and Aidan watched him with those brown eyes before he gave a long sigh and then stared at Hugo.

"Don't go there" he said finally. "Don't look at me with those big eyes and try and gauge my reaction to what happened yesterday, you'd have to have like three bottle of vodka and some barbeque chicken because I feel like that right now and you don't. I know Lexie threw the ball at Mark's girlfriend and I know you, I know you like to think ahead without checking where you're feet lie and that is the most dangerous stupid thing that you do and that includes the story of where you ran into a shooter's aim because of your Dad. So if you wanna chat then please get me at a better time"

And with that Aidan tuned over in his sleep and tried to ignore Hugo who had to admit (privately) that he had switched off somewhere in that sentence probably when Lexie's name had been called up into the conversation.

"I mean she threw the ball at the woman's breast" he said shaking his head and staring up at the ceiling.

"Yeah" Aidan said heavily. "And if she'd have thrown like that a little higher during the match then we might have had a shot of winning instead of that bizarre ceasefire"he shook his face there was a second they stared at each other, and then Aidan groaned forcing himself to sit up and prop himself on one elbow. Hugo grinned and then winced as the sunlight hit his sore head full force. Perhaps spending the entire game secretly drinking was not the best thing they had ever done even if Meredith and Cristina had done the exact same thing and were up and about (well at least Meredith was) as if nothing had happened.

"Ugh I suppose that this gives you hope" Aidan said wincing at the bright lights, Hugo wanted to admit that he knew his best friend had a point but he didn't want to give him that kind of satisfaction, as far as he was concerned he had made up his mind a week ago.

"I'm staying out of it" he said tilting his head back. "He's at perfect liberty to sleep with either one of them"

Aidan opened one eye and then snorted into his pillow. "Maybe both of them" he said finally turning over and falling back asleep.

It took Hugo's tired, overworked brain a long time to catch up with the innuendo that Aidan had made. Hugo would have to admit later, when he was more conscious that it was rather impressive that Aidan had made a joke while hungover and sleep deprived but when his brain did catch up with that statement (and the unfortunate images that it conjured up of April, Lexie and then his father together) was to groan and make a rude gesture with hand.

"If I see that again I will suture your fingers together, it won't be good for Zola to see anything when she comes back" came the cheery voice of Meredith through the open door. Hugo groaned again. "I hate everything" he said turning on his side.

"Good" came Aidan's muffled voice. "That makes two of us"

* * *

They were forced out of bed some time later, which in turn turned out to be noon by Alex who told them he was locking them in and calling Doctor Bailey for assistance and a lecture on group teamwork and the dangers of liver damage if they didn't prove that they were alive. How Alex knew they had been drinking when Hugo's Dad who was like a sniffer dog at a Thai airport when things like this happened hadn't was something Hugo failed to understand but as Alex rather grudgingly offered to give them a lift (the word force was heavily implied however) they shut the hell up and swigged coffee out of thermos for most of the ride there.

That was when they found out about 'Heart in a Box'

"Wait?" Hugo said as Doctor Webber finished telling them about what was going on looking gleeful. "It's beating on it's own?"

"In a box?" Aidan finished looking exactly the same way Hugo felt.

"Yep" Doctor Webber said. "Yang but it in the Residents longue but it's only gonna be here a while so if you want to see it..."

Hugo didn't wait to hear the end of that sentence he was already following Aidan to the elevator as fast as his tired legs could move him.

"Shit" Aidan breathed watching the beating heart with wide eyes.

"I know" Hugo said back cocking his head to the side. "Hard to imagine that was in a living person three or four hours ago"

"Hard to believe that it's going into a living person once again" Aidan pointed out. "All nice and bright and shiny like none of this ever happened"

Hugo stared at the bright heart in it's box and then shook his head. He wanted to do something that might be stupid, god knows it sounded very stupid but he had to admit...that he so desperately wanted to...

Thankfully Aidan seemed to have the exact same words floating around his head as well.

"You wanna take a selfie with it?"

Two selfies, a disapproving look from Miranda Bailey who was passing by for what seemed like the third time and one chicken casserole later they were sat on the couch waiting for the arrival of the rest of the residents.

"So let me get this straight"Aidan said still watching the box with a rather confused look on his face. "You're not getting involved in your father's love life?"

"Never have before" Hugo said chewing thoughtfully.

"Yeah but he's never had one before"

"That's a good point"Hugo agreed nodding.

"So what bugs you, that it's Lexie or that it's not April. What makes April so special?"

Hugo paused.

"You remember the first shooting, the one that I rang you about all those months ago? When April told me to hide, when she tried to stop me going into that room, when she tried to protect me no matter at what cost?"

Aidan nodded.

"Well I had never had that before. A woman, hell a mother protecting me no matter what, so yeah, I would prefer April over anything. Certainly over Lexie, but he's my Dad, he's given half of his life up for me and I aint gonna make him give up more, so I'm gonna sit here watching heart in a box and make sure that I don't say anything to him because...because as far as it is concerned I am done with that. if he wants Lexie then he wants Lexie and when it all falls apart I will be there with the take out number and the beer when it does"

Aidan shook his head turning back to his dinner stabbing it with a fork.

"Who's George?" he said finally. "The one whose mother was in the hospital today?"

"Resident who died about three or so years ago" Hugo said finally. "Dad never knew him if that was what you were after, Meredith still gets sad about him sometimes though I doubt she admits it, he was married to Callie, before she liked women"

Aidan stared at him for a second and then shook his head.

"This place is like a brothel gone wrong" he said finally.

Hugo snorted into his share of the chicken dish they were eating. The heart in the box gave another beat and the sky just seemed to get darker as the day went on. Meredith and Cristina came into the room effectively ending the conversation and Hugo pretended that when his father came in some minutes later he wasn't in what looked like a deep meaningful conversation with April. After all...he was staying out of it.

And if his Dad's happiness cost him what he imagined would be a great family unit one day then that was just something that Hugo would have to put up with. To most people that would sound rather stupid but most people hadn't had the life that he had had. All Hugo had ever known was his father and he was the only real parent he was going to have. And if Lexie was what he wanted...

Well Hugo wasn't going to stand in his way.

It didn't mean as Aidan pointed out, that he had to like it, it was just the way it was.

Of course that was then, there is no time limit to what might happen down the line.

* * *

(After all, as we all know the surgical board exams are coming up)

* * *

 **And there it is, please let me know what you think, I will update again as I said above as soon as I can.**

 **Next Chapter-8x09-Dark Was The Night-As Hugo and Aidan are stuck home with a brewing storm developing, Hugo finds himself dealing with a blow to his father's confidence that not even April can fix when it is revealed that he made a mistake in a woman's surgery that could cost her, her life. Part one of a two part episode. **


	51. 8x09-Dark Was The Night

**Hi so here is the first part of the two parter episode which will conclude with the next chapter. I know I promised a Hugo/Jackson confrontation but that is being moved to the next chapter along with the April side of this chapter because I forgot that she doesn't come out of surgery until the next episode which is where the conversation will be.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine**

 **Please Read and Review and I will try and update as soon as I can.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 51-8x09-Dark Was The Night

As Hugo and Aidan are stuck home with a brewing storm developing, Jackson finds himself dealing with a blow to his confidence that not even April can fix when it is revealed that he made a mistake in a woman's surgery that could cost her, her life. Part one of a two part episode.

* * *

In the days to come Jackson would not know what went wrong. All he knew was that they had started to do solo surgeries in area's that he was not strong in, area's that he had to prep for more than once. Ortho was one of these subjects. He thought on the whole however that he had done rather well considering Callie who was supposed to be supervising him spent the entire time with her head in a magazine occasionally telling him that he was alright even though she didn't look up for the one surgery he was nervous about.

But as far as he could tell it had gone all right. The patient (who had an adorable son) was still alive and was on her way home. He got to meet the husband and then went on his merry way. Well as merry as he could be when one was surrounded by death and blood and gore every second of the day. They were nearing the end of their fifth year. They were nearing the end of their lives as surgical interns and residents. Finally it seemed their education was nearly over. As God as his witness Jackson couldn't wait.

The problem was that when fifth year came around he would have to change hospitals. Sloan was already talking about places that had the best reputations for plastics and then he would trail off as if he remembered that Jackson had a kid that wasn't young enough to say no. Hugo had a life here, he had friends here, he had family here and Jackson wasn't sure if he wanted to drag his kid away from that. Next year his son would be in his penultimate year of High School. If he was going to do this then it had be now, no way was he uprooting his son in his senior year.

And then...then there was the topic of Aidan. Hugo he had a sneaking suspicion would not leave Aidan and he knew enough (which was little but he imagined he could piece together a story based on what his son didn't tell him) that if he turned Aidan back over to his father then Hugo would never forgive him.

But...if he wanted to move away that meant two options. Meredith and Derek were supposedly building a house and he wasn't sure if he was being honest with himself how that was gonna go. Alex was leaving and he imagined so would April. That would leave Lexie alone in the house and he wasn't leaving Aidan alone with her, not for anything. It only gave him a year since she would soon be in her fifth year and Lexie barely knew how to cook.

He wasn't going to leave Aidan alone with Lexie. Aidan barely ate anything resembling a balanced diet and he drank his coffee in a way that even Jackson who had suffered an internship and a kid who somewhere down the line had developed the flu would never drink. There was he admitted to himself a chance that if he left Aidan and Lexie alone to fend for themselves they might die of poor diet and a coffee overdose.

So that left the question of whether or not he wanted to take Aidan with him. Now Jackson liked Aidan he did but he had gotten through raising one kid and he wasn't sure if he wanted to do that again with another. Well...one that wasn't really his responsibility. But then again, the kid's parents weren't obviously gonna look after him so who was left but him?

And it was these questions and the answers that came with them and the never ending possibilities and all the right ways to go wrong that were keeping him up at night spinning his head around and around in knots and ensuring that he was kept out of ORs and staring at hearts in boxes and research papers wondering how the hell he was gonna figure this new problem out.

And of course he realised when he got home that he had nobody to talk to. Well he had April but he had to admit he was finding it difficult to be in her presence right now ever since the baseball game when the image of her in sports gear and her hair in plats and her smile as she jumped up and down were cropping up in his dreams that made him feel guilty when he woke up and saw that she wasn't the woman that was sleeping next to him.

* * *

So all in all he had thought he had done quite well, had kept his cool when the kid with a pretty bad injury due to a dog had come in and had been quietly helping Mark with a neat pair of stiches alongside the kids face when there had been a banging on the gallery window which caused Mark to swear at length and Jackson to nearly miss a stich in surprise.

They looked up as one.

It was Callie. She looked furious and she pointing at Jackson in a highly unpleasant way. He shot Mark a confused look but he just rolled his eyes in response to the mother of his child's pointing.

"Go and see what the hell that's all about" he said turning back to the kid on the table. "And while you're there remind her that I am in the middle of saving a small child and that I don't want to throw a stich, and for god sakes make sure a nurse pages Shepherd. I think he might be ignoring me on purpose again, that or there has to be a mass casualty situation upstairs and all of them Nuro patients that require him to have six hands and six brains"

"That's an image" Jackson said before he could stop himself allowing the nurse to wrap up his hands so he wouldn't have to scrub in before he ducked out of the room and into the hallway where Callie was waiting looking furious.

And then she dropped the bomb on him.

The woman with the son and the husband who had been the one patient he had been worried about the most was on Teddy's table with April half into her chest with a screw in her heart that had somehow ended up from her spine to the front of her chest. Half of her heart was in April's hands and the other half still in her body or something like that from what he could gather and he thought for a second hard. He had been fine in that surgery, he had placed all the screws carefully, he had not lost one of that he was sure because he had counted them. Hell the only time he had looked up from the table was...was...when he had thought about asking Callie for help with the final screw which had been a little too tight for his liking.

Had that been where it had all gone wrong?

He ducked out of the OR trying desperately to remember as she had instructed but even as Jackson pulled the charts towards him and stared at the scans post-op he could not see where he had gone wrong, he must have done at some point, but he couldn't see it.

He spent the next hour staring at the scans from all different directions but could not see what had happened. Finally he was called out of his misery and self-loathing when Callie demanded to see everything. She scanned the entire mass of paper that had been his patient's surgery and then shook her head once. Weather that was good or bad news she didn't elaborate as she shot him a look and then told him he could go back to Mark. He didn't understand until he saw her go back into the OR. She was telling him that she was taking the fall for this. It did nothing to make him feel better, he had already spoken to both the husband and the mother who had done nothing but accidently question his confidence and he wasn't sure if he wanted to go back into another surgery where another life might hang in the balance should he make another mistake.

Finally he did but only because an intern had been sent to find him by Mark who was now pissed that he had been gone so long.

Derek was already there but he realised that they were on the phone with Meredith and Alex who were to the best of his knowledge in another hospital taking care of a newborn that needed urgent surgical assistance and transporting her to this hospital under the care of Arizona.

There was a second when Jackson stepped out in order to deal with getting them a chopper and then when he came back it was like he was surrounded by a load of ghosts. Nobody had moved since he had come in and Derek seemed half frozen in ice.

And that was when he found out about the crash. That Alex and Meredith were missing in a storm with a baby and that somewhere down the line they had lost contact with them.

"Doctor Avery" said Mark in a voice that was uncharacteristically sober. "Doctor Shepherd is gonna put down his tools and your gonna step in, hard part's over now and we'll talk you through the rest"

Jackson nodded, he had no idea what had happened in the short distance he had been gone but he knew that he needed to do his job which was try and fix the state of this kid's brain. He had no idea how he was going to do that when his latest mistake was in the next room and was still half dying on the table but he knew he couldn't say no. This kid had a father just like Hugo had, just like the kid whose Mom was on the table next door and Jackson couldn't let him down because of his own misgivings.

He knew what he wanted to do when this was over. He wanted to speak to someone who would tell him what to do. He had never had that. He didn't want to get into a conversation with his mother not now, not when she would change the subject without even thinking onto his future. His mother had barely accepted Hugo, oh she loved him there was no doubt about that, but there was love and acceptance and he still wasn't sure if his mother could ever understand why he had chosen to keep his son that day when he could have had an easier life with an easier future ahead of him.

She certainly he knew, would not factor Aidan into the equation. As far as his mother was concerned she would say it wasn't Jackson's responsibility and if the kids home life didn't help then she would point him in the direction of children's services and have done with it.

No. he had to thin about this more. And before he did that he had to talk to someone about it.

Perhaps it was time to let Hugo in on what was bothering him? It wasn't just his future anymore?

He really wanted his best friend right now, he wanted someone to tell him that this was all a mistake, that he was a good surgeon and that he could be someone and be something that his son would be proud of.

He wanted he realised as they finally managed to tie up what was left of the kid's face in a way that didn't make him look scarred for life, to talk to someone who he trusted more than ever, he wanted to talk to April about all of this but then there was the question of his damn pesky feelings constantly getting in the way.

Jackson still wasn't sure what to do when he left the OR still kicking himself. April was still not out of the surgery which meant that the woman on the table, the woman with the nice husband and the worried mom and the baby boy, the woman that he had been entrusted with was still not out the woods. April was in there cleaning up his mistakes and he found that to be the most distressing of all.

Perhaps today he would tell her what he was feeling, then maybe he wouldn't stop all his other feelings, maybe it was time to dip his toe in the water and take them over this line he felt like they had both been dancing for so long.

But first he had to sort out all the other problems in his life first.

But you see he never got to that point, because at that exact moment, Meredith Grey, shaking and bleeding and looking two steps away from falling over came through the hospital doors clutching a shaken looking young woman and simply put...all hell broke loose.

* * *

 **And let me know what you think. This story is slowly coming to an end so don't worry there will be a happy ending...for...most characters anyway.**

 **Next Chapter-8x10-Suddenly-Jackson emerges from surgery to what could only be described as a living nightmare. April ends up talking to her best friend about the losses that come from this job and Hugo and to some extend Aidan are left to pick up the pieces of two shattered residents after a night that sees them lose nearly everything. On the happier side, the four of them see the return of someone who has been sorely missed to their mismatched family. Part two of a two part storyline.**

 **And enjoy. **


	52. 8x10-Suddenly

**Hi, so here finally is another chapter, I am starting exam revision this week so it might be a while before the next chapter is posted, I am giving you all warning.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please read and review and let me know what you think.**

 **A few little things from the summary of this chapter been admitted but anything that has will be addressed in the following two chapters before i hit the mind field that will be writing the alternate universe episode.**

 **I did address the whole Cristina making fun of April thing in this episode. I am sympathetic to what Teddy went through in this episode of course but i do not condone bullying without having at least one character call someone out on it, therefore while i do understand the motives behind it i do consider what Cristina did to be bullying someone and i think she certainly suspected the intercom was on, with a character like April especially from what we gathered about her home life in Season 9 with her sisters i am amazed this was never really covered in the following episodes. I like Teddy, there were moments where i do like Cristina but i do not condone bullying and this that scene was so be fully prepared that Jackson will be calling them both out on it at some point during this season.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 52-8x10-Suddenly

Jackson emerges from surgery to what could only be described as a living nightmare. April ends up talking to her best friend about the losses that come from this job and Hugo and to some extend Aidan are left to pick up the pieces of two shattered residents after a night that sees them lose nearly everything. On the happier side, the four of them see the return of someone who has been sorely missed to their mismatched family. Part two of a two part storyline.

* * *

Jackson just about had time to realise that there had been a massive pile up that Meredith and Alex had narrowly escaped before Sloan was called out of surgery and all but dragged him to help a kid with what looked like a piece of wreckage stuck in her eye. His stomach churned, eye injuries were always gross it didn't matter how hard a surgeon you were and it didn't help that the kid was roughly the same age as Hugo which never made surgery on anyone that great when those reminders entered his mind.

He was just about to go and find Derek, who had swept Meredith away for a consult, which Jackson was willing to bet considering Meredith's stubbornness and the fact that he knew she would want to see this through to the bloody, bitter end no doubt. Instead he all but crashed into April who nearly toppled them both over if it wasn't for Jackson grabbing onto the doorway with his spare hand and forcing them both steady.

"Sorry" she muttered and there was something about the tone that made Jackson stop and stare at her. Even when she had just lost a patient April was generally an optimist. She tried to see the happier parts of surgery like the lifesaving qualities and not the fact that someone was dead.

For her to be this unhappy meant that something was seriously wrong as was the fact that for some reason she was refusing to meet his eyes. Oh shit. Did he kill that patient?

"Did the patient die?" he asked trying to keep his voice and the panic that was in it to a bare minimum so not to cause a scene.

April stared at him for a second before his words seemed to register. She shook her head and Jackson without thinking, without remembering that he had something to do or that someone's life was dependant on him finding the right person that would save them, opened the door to the nearest trauma room and pushed April inside.

"What happened?" he asked.

April took a deep breath as if she had to struggle to keep herself under control and wasn't that a worrying thought. Nine times out of ten it was April that had kept her cool when something was wrong, it was unnatural to see her so out of sorts not to mention unusual and she swallowed again before she spoke.

"Altman's husband...Henry came in, they made Yang operate on his, you know with his face covered so she wouldn't know but he died and now Hunt wants me to sit in the damn gallery while he sends Yang in there to finish the job on the patient because otherwise Teddy's gonna worry about what's taking so long"

Jackson stared. He felt an overwhelming sadness for Doctor Altman, he remembered Henry putting together the baseball game that they had almost won and how he had been there watching his wife with the surgery that had resulted in a heart in a box. There was a second where he stared at April measuring the loss between the two of them. And then the rest of her words registered.

"Are you telling me that he's got his wife operating with his best friend despite the fact that she's a widow and Yang was the surgeon operating?"

April nodded. Jackson swore rubbing a hand over his face as she tried to think hard about what to do. There was really nothing that either one of them could do. "Go and do what he says" he said hating Hunt for putting them through this debacle time and time again, honestly in between the relationship problems between him and Yang, the sex that seemed to never end in the on call rooms that everyone...and he meant...everyone had walked in on at some point and the whole debacle over whether or not they wanted kids which seemed to go on for longer than Jackson felt he had been a resident at the hospital.

There was a second where they stared at each other both lost in their own desires. He wanted nothing more to do than to close his eyes and sleep away all the worries about the world they would be facing at the end of this year. It seemed for eight years they had been living in a sort of dream world where they had survived in some sort of protected bubble. Oh there had been accidents and shootings but their lives had been surrounded by the four walls of this hospital, and they were the only two left of the four surgical residents, (the main residents that had managed to gain approval and fast tracking for surgeries anyway) that were left not just here...but alive.

"I think what we have to do is go home, eat greasy food and maybe sleep for a week" he said finally.

"I agree" April said staring at him and Jackson realise with a shot to the rest of his bloodstream that he was still clinging to her shoulders. He moved his hands away and tried not to compare them to glue when they came back to his sides. There was a second where they stared at each other for a second longer and Jackson remembered that foolishly he wanted to make sure that she was ok.

"I should go" April said finally. Jackson nodded and opened the door for her.

"Hey you wanna grab some take out tonight?" he said before he could stop himself.

"I...I have a lot to talk about and...I could use my best friend" he said truthfully.

April flashed him a smile that was genuine and strong and Jackson couldn't help but grin back, there was something about April's smile that made his own come out with very little struggle, even despite the circumstances that they were in.

* * *

Then they walked out the door and went back to their respective jobs and Jackson tried to pretend that his heart didn't feel lighter when he thought about the fact that he had someone at home to talk about his problems with. He turned back to the patient on the bed and tried not to look too relieved when Sloan and a rather strange looking Lexie came out of the trauma room her expression torn between surprise and annoyance as well as nervous, a three kind of expression that she had taken to wearing whenever she was around her ex-boyfriend. If Jackson was a better boyfriend he supposed that he would be more worried but right now he was too tired and too confused about his friendship with the woman that he found himself wanting to be his girlfriend. So instead he tried to focus on not looking too relieved that he didn't have to operate on this child that was the same age as his son who had family that probably wouldn't make it through the night.

Instead he finally had time to start his paper. Fifth years were required to publish a paper on their chosen specialties and about the cases that they had done that had allowed them to consider that speciality as the thing that would define them for the rest of their working lives.

That being said there was a lot of work that had to go into it as well as studying for the boards as well as the rest of the shit that came with holding down a job that had no set rules whatsoever.

Jackson had just gone to put the books he was borrowing on ENT surgeries and was just dumping them in his locker when he came out to sight of Hunt looking exhausted. Jackson tried to sneak away but seeing as the locker room was...well...just that there was no way that he could make an escape without walking past the man that had just sent his wife to work on his best friend's patient, straight after said wife had been the lead surgeon on her husband's surgery who had died, whose first surgery Jackson had screwed up resulting in this whole unfortunate situation. There might have been a few errors in that sentence but honestly Jackson wasn't sure how this entire nightmare that had started when the night shift seemed so bright and happy had resulted in... _This_ catastrophe to which it was becoming rapidly obvious there was no cure.

Hunt looked up at him when he saw Jackson standing there and he was suddenly reminded of how he had looked after the shooting. They had stood in that hospital all of them shaken and there was a second where Jackson thought that Hunt looked so much older all the time than he was. He looked exhausted, and not the type of exhausted that a solid twenty four hours sleep could bring you either, a different type. And Jackson was loath to admit it but he thought a more dangerous type.

"Go home Avery" the attending said finally his voice heavy with grief and exhaustion. "There's nothing more that, you can do tonight, as soon as Ted..." he caught himself on his best friends name and shook his head once to regain speech.

"As soon as Altman is out of surgery take Kepner with you, the both of you look like your about to fall down, and your'll wanna see your son I imagine at some point before next week"

Jackson thought about saying something but then decided against it. He was being granted a gift and he wasn't going to waste it.

"How is Meredith and the family that she brought in?" he asked thinking of the kid with the metal bit stuck in her eyeball. Hunt gave another long sigh but this time it was filled with an irritation that Jackson couldn't understand and yet somehow could all at once.

"Father keeps dying, the Mom's dead and Mark and Derek just finished the girl, she still has both eyes so I suppose that that's something and Bailey's working on the brother but his bellies full of fluid and she's on a clock. Grandma's dead as well. A whole family, normal day, normal breakfast and then by dinner...it's all gone" he shook his head.

"God I hate what we do sometimes" he said and Jackson couldn't help but silently agree with him. On days like these he too struggled to understand what was going on in their line of work. There was a second where they stared at each other both of them thinking hard about what had happened and how they were going to go forwards from this and Jackson knew he by far had the easier task.

"See you tomorrow Chief" he said finally. He didn't think that Owen had even heard him.

* * *

He went looking for April and found her sitting in the same OR gallery watching Cristina and Teddy save the life of a woman that Jackson had screwed up. April was looking down at her hands, two things were wrong with this situation. One, April looked close to tears and the second one was Cristina seemed to be sending sympathetic looks at the gallery whenever she could. The intercom was one and Jackson shot one look to the button, to April and then to Cristina and then shook his head, sitting down next to her.

April turned to face him her expression tight with something Jackson thought was hurt.

"There making fun of me"she said in answer to his unspoken question.

Jackson stared at her for a second. Rage bubbled up at him, he was sympathetic to Altman of course but she didn't know about her husband yet. If this had happened after he would have been just as furious but it would have been understandable to some extent. Cristina was...well she was always kind of a bitch even if she couldn't help it and the circumstances demanded that Altman be preoccupied and he could understand that.

That being said he didn't care for Altman picking on April when April had been nothing but kind to her, had been a good surgeon and was due another turn on the woman's residency soon, it seemed like one of the grosses abuses of power that could have ever happened. He wondered how Teddy could see April sitting there and continue belittling her and her surgical abilities, he wondered how anyone would react if they found out that a teacher in a teaching hospital bullied her resident while she was sat there watching? There was a second where they stared at each other and then Jackson stood up.

"Hunt's giving us permission to leave, we can get an intern to sit here, God knows they hate us, they won't care if someone's slagging us off"

April let out a little giggle and Jackson thought that she might have been a victim of bullying herself as a child, as a student, he couldn't think of an instance where he had bullied April, they had, had banter sure but he had...he never had...had he?

Oh shit, this was just another thing that was gonna keep him up at night he could just tell.

April nodded finally and she followed him out of the OR. He thought for a second about flicking the intercom on and giving the both of them a piece of his mind but then he remembered that Altman's husband was lying dead in OR 2 and then he followed her out of the door and down the steps without another word.

He quickly pretended not to think about what his mother would say if he rang her and casually asked what the American Collage of Surgeon's thought about bullying.

But then he came back to the image of Henry at the ballgame and realised that whatever argument he could have with Altman in some insane way to defend April's honour would just be pointless and cruel.

Besides he was tired, Meredith and Derek had already gone home and if that was any indication that he should as well then he didn't know what was.

* * *

They got home, exhausted and hungry only to be greeted by the rather joyous sound of laughter.

"Zola!" April cried out in surprise and Jackson turned from where he was locking the door to see the baby nestled in Meredith's arms. Meredith was beaming and Derek was practically glowing and it just seemed to make the stress of the last couple of days melt away to see the family that had been so long torn apart back together. Zola was beaming and the whole house felt lighter than it had done in weeks.

"Hey where are the boys?" April asked in between making googly eyed faces at Zola who was trying to grab April's shiny red hair. Seriously how did she get it that shiny and soft after a day at the OR table? Anyway Derek was the one that spoke up and when he did it was in a voice that could not contain it's laughter.

"I gave them the pizza that we ordered and a six pack of beer and told them not to come down unless they have to"

Jackson stared and then shook his head. He didn't want to screw over whatever happiness Derek and Meredith had gleamed so he instead he gestured upstairs to April and she nodded. Finally they were able to sneak away and allow Meredith and Derek to have their well-earned family time.

They came upstairs to the sound of laughter and found them in Aidan's room.

"Tonight only" Jackson said seeing the two beers open and helping himself to a slice of pizza as April kicked off her shoes and he did the same.

"And I want to have two so make it your last"

April started chatting to Aidan about what had happened with Zola but Jackson tuned them out. He was tired and he wanted...he wanted a hug from his boy.

Hugo however had long ago picked up the hint that his Dad had, had a bad day and needed something without uploading the horrors that he had seen that day. When he had been younger it had been pictures scrawled on the fridge and then it had been ice cream made so that the kitchen was a mess but there was a sundae with sprinkles and that and a smile made it all better despite the mess. Jackson had been easy to please back then...he had been an intern...he had been involved in lesser cases...and life had not been as complicated.

Hugo crawled over so that Jackson could swing an arm around him. April and Aidan were both laughing at something.

"You ok?" his son asked his tone quiet. Jackson shook his head.

"No" he said finally looking at April for a second longer than he knew he should have.

"But it can wait until tomorrow"

* * *

 **Next Chapter-8x11-This Magic Moment-As Aidan and Hugo sneak in to watch a risky surgery concerning conjoined twins and even though there are in opposite surgery's Jackson manages to find the time to gain some perspective from April about what to do with Aidan when it comes to after the boards.**

 **And let me know what you think. **


	53. 8x11-This Magic Moment

**Hi, so here is another chapter, I do apologise for the lateness but I have been revising for my exams and as anyone who has sat them will know they take up a lot of work.**

 **But nonetheless here is the update.**

 **Spoilers for the last episode of Greys Anatomy-OMG, Steph in danger, Alex using the last name 'Stevens' and Megan alive. Was I the only one who wanted it to be Minnick in danger and Megan dead so Meredith and Riggs could get their happy ending? And a shout out for the Teddy reference. It's nice for them to remember a character that's not dead once in while.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 53-8x11-This Magic Moment

As Aidan and Hugo sneak in to watch a risky surgery concerning conjoined twins and even though they are in opposite surgeries Jackson manages to find the time to gain some perspective from April about what to do with Aidan when it comes to after the boards.

* * *

The week after Zola was returned to the house Hugo could see that there was a happiness in the very air. Or that might have been due to the amount of cake April had been baking. She was still on Teddy's service and Hugo didn't understand what had happened exactly the night her husband had died but he imagined if it made April stress bake as well as compile notes for the boards that were loaming a lot more closer now they were nearing the end of summer then it must have been either very bad or very good depending on whether or not you counted seventeen red velvet cupcakes and three chocolate mousse that were declared 'not good enough' and thrown in Hugo and Aidan's direction.

Then there was the whole ravioli debacle where April had decided to make pasta from scratch while studying cardio diseases and Lexie had had to flee upstairs when she had questioned how April was going to make pumpkin go in pasta and April had thrown flour out her and nearly ruined Hugo's math homework-not that he really cared all that much about that when he got a handful of the food that he managed to scrounge from April's manic week of cooking.

The rest of the house was obsessed with the biggest case of their lives. Conjoined twins. Apparently that kind of case didn't come around all that often and everyone was desperate to not only have a starring role in what would be the changing of two people's lives but also to make sure that the surgery went well.

In truth Hugo knew that as far as he and Aidan were concerned they just wanted a good seat. There was a great momentum in the house the day of the surgery and with Hugo and Aidan still on break for their last remaining week of summer hols and what with the weather steadily growing colder and the nights growing darker Hugo knew he was not the only one that wanted this glorious summer of surgeries and no worries about the future to end.

The morning of the surgery Hugo knew he had surprised his father who had staggered downstairs after only two or three hours of sleep the night before to see Aidan and Hugo up and dressed eating cold pasta and a fresh pot of coffee brewing in the corner and one of them asking for lift. His father groaned. "You do get that you're not even supposed to be there? The rooms gonna be packed with people hoping to see this and there's no way that..."

But what there was no way for his father never got a chance to say. At that moment two people...well in effect three people came in and ended the conversation. Meredith who was carrying Zola and April who was still in her pyjama shorts. Perhaps it was the effect of living with her for so long that Hugo and Aidan did not look at her legs as they had done for the first two months that she had been living here, or...Aidan. Well, they were only teenage boys after all. And there had been a lot of good looking women in this house.

Upon seeing April however his father shut up and immediately assumed an expression as if he was at the bedside of a very dear friend.

"Good morning my brave new worlders" Meredith all but sang. Hugo and Aidan shared a look. They were both for Meredith and Derek being happy, surrounded by their family but they both knew that it was kinda unnerving to see Meredith this bright and shiny. Especially at such an ungodly hour. Hugo turned back to the coffee pot in the middle of the kitchen and tried to will it to come over to him with the power of his mind. It didn't work.

"Is everyone excited for Zola's first surgery?"

"Oh yeah" Hugo said over a mouthful of pasta. "Zola gets to see the surgery but we get hissed and booed for taking up all the seats."

His father ignored him.

"Why are you eating pasta?" he asked as a strange deflection. Whatever was going on Hugo was now seriously becoming worried about his father going round the bend. Perhaps he would find out what was bugging him today. His distraction was getting so bad then he was worried about what would happen if he got a scalpel in his hand. There was a pause where they stared at each other and then his Dad dropped his eyes to the table as if it was the safest thing that he could look at.

"Hungry"Hugo said finally. "Plus there was nothing else in the fridge but baby formula. I think in someone's excitement they forgot to do the shopping, or tell someone to do it, so we'll reliant on what April's been cooking" he shot another look at Meredith and he watched his Dad shoot another look at April out of the corner of his eye before there was a thud and a light amount of swearing from upstairs that told him Lexie was up and had tripped over something. Probably a new pair of Zola's shoes that Meredith had been buying in bulk and then leaving in the hallway until they managed to sort out a proper closet and nursery for her.

There was something very strange about his father's recent behaviour. There was something that he couldn't put his finger on. There was a second where he stared at his Dad trying to figure it out before he ducked his expression down to the table. He had a feeling that even if he did know he wouldn't like it. Nothing really seemed to be going right at the minute. If his father passed the boards Hugo knew with his surname there would be doors being opened up and down the country.

So what would his father do?

Would he leave Hugo and go peruse his career? Well that was possible. God knows it wouldn't be the first time. Hell he had done it before. They had been separated until Hugo had been at school. He could remember living with his grandmother until his Dad came home one day.

He had no idea what was going to happen to this little family that they had built when the end of the year came around and they all had to make decisions that would affect the rest of their lives.

He should be a part of that decision, he had earned that right a long time ago. When the time came and his Dad passed his exams he would ask, no he would demand to have a say in where they lived, in where he studied and he would ask if it were possible that Aidan came with them or at the very least he would secure for his best friend the chance to live with someone in this house.

At the very least that was either Lexie or Alex should he move back in and Hugo could at least make sure that food parcels were delivered regularly and three of them were checked, well he could make sure that Aidan was checked to ensure he didn't overdose from the unnatural amount of coffee that he like everyone in this house seemed to drink.

* * *

He was still pondering on this when he got to the hospital and silently took up a seat in the OR Gallery. Perhaps it was because so many of the surgical staff where down below and therefore the nurses and interns were working overtime on their patients but Hugo found that there were less glares than there usually were whenever they took their seats. Aidan who had gone in search of coffee came back looking tired and grumpy.

"What?" Hugo asked.

"Dad" Aidan said shortly. His mouth twisted at the same time that Hugo's body did to stare at him. Aidan never mentioned his father unless he had to. His mother had been in the picture at least not emotionally for years and Hugo knew that his father made all the decisions about their lives including the one that had seen Aidan coming through his backdoor that morning saying he couldn't go back home. Aidan's father was like Hugo's mother. There were somethings that they just didn't talk about. Aidan knew his mother was dead, Hugo knew Aidan's parents were emotionally distant and in academia and that they travelled a lot.

"So is he leaving?" Hugo said taking a handful of the toffee popcorn. Aidan snorted. "Yeah" he said finally. "He and Mom...there going to England on some research trip and my dear Dad told me that they do not intend to babysit me for another two years, I am an adult and apparently not their responsibility as I no longer live under their roof, therefore I can live with you for the time being and my father will gratefully write yours a check for his troubles" he finished this speech with a little mocking twist and Hugo so absorbed in this story failed to notice his father in the row that was far at the back or April sat next to him and that they could hear most of the conversation.

"Fuck" he said finally.

Aidan shrugged. "Look, I know what's coming at the end of this year. If I can get Alex or Lexie to let me keep my room then I can find a way to pay them the rent but if not..." he shook his head. "Well...I'm not the first sixteen year old that's had to make hard decisions"

"Fuck" Hugo said again. Aidan shrugged.

They were both distracted by the sight of the twins and Aidan's powerful desire to not talk about the conversation they had just had. Hugo tried to put it out of his mind but he had to admit that it was concerning to say the least. He somehow didn't see a problem with Aidan still living in the house. Lexie would keep him around he knew and Alex had had a shitty father, Aidan could play the sympathy card well and he was good company simply because he could take care of himself but Hugo still didn't like the idea of Alex, Lexie and Aidan in a house by themselves simply because he knew Meredith liked the idea of her house still standing even after she, Derek and Zola had moved to their homemade dream house on the top of the mountain or whatever.

"Oh good" Aidan said in his normal tone stuffing his phone in the bottom of his bag. "Here we go"

And with that sight of the twins conjoined at the middle and the finality of Aidan's tone ensured that Hugo understood that that was an end to the conversation.

* * *

"Oh crap" Jackson said finally once they had turned to see the twins coming in. Meredith was already settled having pulled Zola out of day care. She still had a couple of hours before she was due to join Bailey's service and she was clearly spending as much time with her daughter as she could before she was called away.

"I didn't know if I had a choice in terms of taking him along wherever I ended up next year" he said quietly to April whose eyes were still glued to the back of Aidan's head as if she could crack open his skull and read his mind.

"I hate to say it but you know have two clear options, leave him hear and hope someone takes pity on him and lets him keep his room at the house or take him with you and assume some sort of responsibility for another teenager"

Jackson stared at her and then forced his attention to the gallery window. Soon Sloan would call him to come down and start the plastics part of the operation. There was a second where he just saw glass and the two dark heads next to each other sharing popcorn and watching. Hell Aidan even had a notepad on his lap. The boy would make a good doctor someday Jackson knew, perhaps more so than Hugo. Hugo had grown up around medicine Aidan had not, perhaps that made a difference, Jackson didn't know but it felt like it.

"I didn't want to do that" he confessed because it was true he didn't.

April stared at him.

"You know the house is getting crowed. Now there's a baby, why don't you try moving out for the rest of the year before the boards and see what happens? See if you can live with two teenagers, hell stranger things have happened in this place"

She spoken with what Jackson knew was a certain amount of truth but he couldn't help but feel frustrated at the thought. This was not his responsibility, he had been a good parent to his son...well...he knew he had been a better than his own father or Aidan's parents but he still found it galling for someone to just write a check to a man that they had never known and just assume that they would take care of their child. He had, had a hard enough time raising the one kid he had never mind someone else.

He could end up next year in another state, hell he could end up in another country. How the hell did that not bother Aidan's parents?

Any minute know he was gonna get called down to the OR and he knew that April was going to get called away but before she did she said something so shocking that he found that even a crashing in the room below him would not make him look up.

"Of course if you want we could get a place together, you me, Aidan and Hugo. I mean..." she said quickly. "As friends of course, if you wanted to. It's just..." she gave a little shrug. "I think back to when we first moved in to Meredith's house and we were all so scared and damaged and broken. Charles and Reed were both dead, Hugo was a mess, Alex had been shot, Meredith had just lost her baby and Lexie couldn't sleep we were all so screwed up that we needed each other and now...look around. Meredith and Derek have a family, Lexie is in a relationship with you, Hugo has his best friend and Alex is doing fine as well...everything seems to be ok and I think we should take advantage of it"

She shot him another strange look and he realised that he hadn't said anything all the while she'd been speaking.

And more to the point he had a sneaking suspicion why his voice had suddenly failed. He knew what he needed to do and he knew he needed to do it fast. Even if nothing came of this thing between April and him he had to do what was right. He was raised right and had raised Hugo right and he didn't want to be the kind of man that would string along a girl while he was pretty sure he was falling in love with another.

"Yeah" he said finally. "I'd like that"

April nodded and then pointed at the window. Sloan was staring at him. Jackson nodded. He had to now go and try and not screw up the biggest thing that could ever happen to two baby girls in their short lives all the while trying to process what had just happened. He shook his stiff limbs out and went down the stairs to the OR.

He knew what had just happened but he couldn't yet believe it.

He and April were moving in together.

He, April, Hugo and Aidan were moving in together.

He might have just become a Dad to another kid overnight.

He was about to save more children from a terrible condition.

He was going to dump Lexie as soon as he could that much was clear.

He was also hopelessly in love with April Kepner.

* * *

 **And I know that look a long time but I felt like Jackson and April had to go through their slow burn attraction in order to get to this point. So thank you if you have kept up with chapters leading to this point. There is a conclusion to the Aidan dilemma in this chapter and therefore we can move on to the other chapters with a bit more clarity.**

 **Next Chapter-8x12-Hope For The Hopeless-Richard celebrates his 10,000 surgery, Jackson takes a big step forward in his not-relationship with April as he tries to find the time to make decisions on both his career and his relationship with Lexie. And a happy event for the group of surgeons turns out to be interrupted rudely when they all overhear the private moments of Cristina and Owen's marriage.**

 **And let me know what you think. **


	54. 8x12-Hope For The Hopeless

**Hi, so here is another chapter, this one again follows the previous thread but don't worry soon we will get some action.**

 **Side-note for the season finale. While in the beginning as a Japril fan I did not like Stephanie in Season 9 but she's grown on me and I wish Jerrika Hinton all the best in the future. That was one of the better season finales and I look forward to Season 14 which with any luck will see Jackson and April back together and Maggie disappear in a cloud of dust because Jackson and Maggie is just-ew.**

 **And now onto the new chapter.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 54-8x12-Hope For The Hopeless

Richard celebrates his 10,000 surgery, Jackson takes a big step forward in his not-relationship with April as he tries to find the time to make decisions on both his career and his relationship with Lexie. And a happy event for the group of surgeons turns out to be interrupted rudely when they all overhear the private moments of Cristina and Owen's marriage.

* * *

Once he had made the decision Jackson had thought stupidly that that would be the end of it. That he could easily move on and execute his decision with a surgical enhancement that had been his saving grace for so long.

As it turns out that was crap. The problem was not making the decision-though God knows that that seemed like the hardest thing imaginable. The problem was executing that decision. And doing it in a way that would cause unimaginable damage to what was first and foremost a great friendship or unimaginable damage to his son. And now he supposed he had to think of Aidan, although he didn't have too. But after so long thinking about someone else's needs it was hard not to consider someone else before he did what he wanted to do.

He knew he was in love with April. Late at night he would repeat the steps his mind-the conclusion that he had come to. In the end he would make sure that he knew what he had to do and each morning he would tell himself that he would do it today.

And each night he went to sleep hating himself a little bit more because he didn't do what had to be done.

He would tell himself that he loved April, that while he did love Lexie it wasn't as a boyfriend, it was the kind of love that you had for a woman who was your roommate and your sister and someone that you trusted in the OR with your back. He would tell himself that the only way he could be fair to both himself and Lexie was too break up with her. The great love of Lexie's life everyone knew was Mark Sloan and he also knew with a sick kind of feeling that the man had never really fallen out of love with his current, soon to be ex-girlfriend.

Then he would tell himself that somehow he had ended up taking in another kid and that kid was now moving in with Jackson and April. That the four of them, Hugo, Aidan, Jackson and April were all living together as some sort of pretend family, that he just knew would feel real. And then he would tell himself that the boards were coming up and he needed to study but he couldn't seem to concentrate on that because he was constantly repeating the mantra over and over in his head of everything he knew and had come to a decision over.

He bit his lip even as he stared in front of the scans. This morning had not gone well. Alex had, had a 'friend' over. Jackson was still not completely convinced that he wasn't at the stage where he was paying for it and Meredith had been planning for Zola's first birthday with a cake that looked distinctly unlike a birthday cake. It didn't help that Hugo had come down looking all sleep deprived and younger than how he usually was and wasn't that just a kick to the balls. It had seemed only yesterday when he had been holding baby Hugo on his hip and planning his first birthday and now his boy was there nearly fifteen years old, good looking and mature and full of excitement about what his future might hold.

Shit time went to fast.

Sad thing was that he knew he would do it all over again given the chance. He stared down at his coffee feeling tired and alone and sadder than he had done in a while. When did everything get so fucked up?

He pretended not to notice April come in. he had told Hugo and Aidan in between the thirty minutes he had gotten to talk to his son yesterday that the three of them were moving into an apartment and April would be joining them because the rent was unbelievable-especially if Hugo planned on going to college-and then Jackson was able to fix his son with a glare and inform him that yes he was going to college and it had better be a good one.

For once Hugo had said nothing. He regarded his father with eyes that were far to wise to be in a fifteen year old's head and then nodded. He didn't comment on Lexie, he didn't comment on Aidan, he didn't comment on why Jackson had made the decision to go and ask April to move in with them rather than his girlfriend thought Aidan had had no such issues. Ok so he didn't say anything but the look on his face complete with the exasperation scrawled all over it when he shot a look to his best friend seemed to speak volumes towards a conversation that Jackson had not been present for.

"Thanks" Aidan had said to him quietly and Jackson not wanting to comment on the fact that he had overheard the conversation between Hugo and him decided not to comment on the fact that he was probably only doing this because he was a father and not because he wanted to become known as a soft spot for every troubled kid in the state. Jackson had just nodded and then allowed Aidan to pour him a cup of coffee. And if the check that had been in the boy's bag had somehow ended up being slid across the table to him and then being slid back and if Aidan was told to keep the cheque for something important such as college, or a car, or...college then that was between him and Aidan.

Instead he chose to focus on the notepads in front of him. He had the aching, sneaking suspicion that everyone but him had started revising and he was horribly behind. Now that the summer was over and everyone was back at school and the wind was beginning to pick up and the nights were starting to get shorter rather than longer the boards seemed to be getting closer and closer. There would be a year and a nearly a half between this round of the boards and the second test and anyhow-it never looked good if you failed the first time and passed the second. And after the second...well...there go the fellows.

And probably the last eight years of your life.

So yeah he was tired and miserable and aching in ways more than one, he was constantly being pulled one way or the other and he was struggling to figure out how to keep his head above water. And more to the point Hugo, who generally always had something to say about any situation Jackson found himself in, who knew automatically when something was wrong with his father in the way that Jackson had and still did always know when something was wrong with his son-wasn't saying anything other than what he thought his father wanted to hear.

And that hurt.

Things Jackson deduced, had never really been the same between the two of them ever since he had come home that night with Lexie's hand half down his pants to see Hugo and that blonde girl on the couch.

That night which had seen both of their romantic entanglements aired in public and although it was now becoming clear that Hugo's had merely been a fling and his was little more than sex when he suspected the both of them were thinking about somebody else, and the comfort of being with someone during the long hours, they had been the first two big relationships that either one of them had had in a long time.

And nothing had gone right since then.

So every night Jackson found himself repeating those three truths to himself, those things that he had to do and the one name of the person he cared for more than anyone else in the world.

Was it any wonder he got so little sleep?

And it only got worse. Because Cristina and Owen were about to step up to the play.

* * *

It was a triple celebration, Zola's birthday had turned into a celebration for Doctor Webber's 10, 000 surgery and had somehow along the way turned into a private celebration for Doctor Webber and Bailey who were both privately thrilled it would seem to finally have confirmation that Meredith Grey the daughter of Ellis Grey, was declaring her specialty as General.

Hell he'd almost been having fun. They had finally managed to find an apartment that they had like and the boys had deemed good enough. Though to be fair all they had wanted was a separate bathroom. Jackson had put his foot down on them sharing a room fearing that by the end of the first week their might not be much of their apartment left standing, and April had refused point blank for anything less than hardwood floors and an oven with a bread maker attached-when they would have time to make bread Jackson would never know but who was watching and finally they seemed to have the perfect place picked out.

Specialties had been chosen. Jackson had finally decided to go with the inevitable and pick plastics and in response Mark had sent over a basket of bagels with the information that that would be the last one they'd be getting.

"It was too much of a good thing" Hugo said sagely from where he was sat on the couch and Jackson wanted to say something but at that moment April came over to talk to them and Hugo suddenly became very interested in the wall on the opposite side of her. This whole thing was beginning to get very strange. Jackson was just about to ask-once the entire party had changed into a very well deserved celebration of Richard Webber what the hell was wrong when the shouting started.

It was common knowledge that earlier this year Cristina had had an abortion, that she had in the process ruled out any future that had involved her having children and that Owen had not agreed with any of it. But in between Zola, Hugo, finally realising what he wanted and the everyday pressures that came with working in a profession that literally had life and death written all over it. Besides he felt like he was somehow involved. Owen had made no attempt to hide the fact over the years that he had admired the fact that Jackson had kept his son and Cristina had made no attempt to hide the fact that she did not understand it. Jackson had neither wanted admiration or mocking, he just wished to do his job but there it was.

And as far as the abortion went he thought it was a private issue that shouldn't be discussed in a public setting with gossipy nurses but Meredith Grey's famed death stare only went so far as to quell the discussions and the probable betting pools that nobody could confirm the nurses had on the sly.

But he really was getting uncomfortable listening in on their shouting matches. Really it was getting difficult to pretend that it wasn't happening even as they were all trying to desperately not hear their own names dragged into the conversation-or was that just him?

They were trying valiantly when Owen accused her of killing his baby. Then it was like someone had fired a shot into the room. Even Meredith who had gone to see what was going on seemed frozen into place. Hugo who had been sat with Aidan had nearly choked on his drink and Jackson who had been thinking up a way he could pull Lexie into the kitchen and tell her that he didn't want to be her boyfriend anymore-though not in those exact words felt his hand go cold on his beer.

It was so utterly despicably selfish of him to admit it when he looked at April and then to where Lexie was standing the both of them staring open mouthed, but Jackson knew he wasn't going to be able to get a word in for the next couple of weeks while this gossip disintegrated into the hospital so quickly it would rival a bacteria infection.

Bloody hell.

Happy birthday Zola, happy 10, 000 surgery Doctor Webber, and well done Jackson Avery he thought irritably, you are once again stuck in a place where you don't want to be.

* * *

 **Next Chapter-8x13-If/Then-In an alternate universe Jackson never keeps Hugo and Charles never dies. That being said some things are always set in stone-AU episode obviously and might be a short chapter.**

 **And let me know what you think. **


	55. 8x13-If Then

**Hi, so here is another chapter. This is an AU chapter and the regular storyline will begin again with the next chapter.**

 **I know that earlier in the season Jackson did dump Lexie in earlier episodes but I wanted to flesh out his thought process, however Lexie is now no more, take that as a spoiler if you will.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 55-8x13-It/Then

In an alternate universe Jackson never keeps Hugo and Charles never dies. That being said there are always somethings set in stone. AU Chapter obviously. Might be a shorter chapter than usual. Standalone chapter, separate from the main narrative.

* * *

 _In an alternate universe Jackson would never keep Hugo he knew._

 _In an alternate universe he would give up his son for adoption. He would sign the papers that his grandfather wanted him to sign and become more than the black sheep of the Avery family that his mother constantly had to defend._

 _In an alternate universe he would never raise the baby that looked at him in the incubator with his tiny eyes._

* * *

 _In an alternate universe Charles wouldn_ _'_ _t die, they would have gone to Seattle Grace Mercy West and they would have been the best residents they could have been. He and April (and yes he liked to think that it would always be him and April) would have kicked ass and ran a brutal campaign against each other in the race to become Chief Resident. He would have beaten out what he imagined to be a timid Meredith and a hard Yang who had become like stone without her best friend and a...well...still idiotic and asinine Alex Karev._

 _But even in an alternate universe things it seemed would still be set in motion._

 _An alternate universe would go something like this._

His day had started bright and early. Jackson had gotten dressed and ready for work rather glad that he had managed to get the entire evening off. With both he and April rushing for Chief Resident he had been more than surprised when Chief Grey had given them the night off but as she claimed-when they were the best residents they were deserving of a good night's rest.

And really, who was to argue with Ellis Grey. Not even his mother could go toe to toe with that woman and she was one of the most daring women that Jackson had ever known.

Well...except maybe April.

Jackson Avery was not ashamed to admit that he might have a thing for the pretty red headed woman that he worked with. If she had been a crap doctor maybe he could understand it as just wanting a warm body at night but April could do a cardio procedure on her own with next to no supervision and then bake cookies from scratch while updating her charts. She seemed to know all the nurses by names, laughed with Meredith Webber-which was not an easy thing to do and was even planning the other woman's wedding.

The only annoying thing that really did stop Jackson from asking out the bane of his existence was that Charles seemed to like her as well.

And really that was irritating.

* * *

He tried to be nice to people while he was at work. Getting along with your fellow residents did contribute somewhat to whether or not they wanted you leading them and the list was due to be published in a few days. But God did Cristina Yang make it difficult. Meredith might have a point when she instructed Jackson to not poke the animals. The woman was more difficult than a sabre toothed tiger and more ruthless than one. Hell if she hadn't done that risky manoeuvre the other year where she had screwed everyone out of the chance to work with the cardio surgeon Preston Burke by literally screwing him to the point where he could no longer focus on his work and had to leave.

Jackson had just been about to start his workload for the day when he was rewarded with the appearance of Lexie Grey half being carried in by Mark Sloan who was so the father of Addison Shepherd's baby even if he was denying it. You don't air you dirty laundry in public Jackson thought irritably as he tried to detach the hospital's resident drug addict away from the nearest needle and the plastics surgeon who she was currently clinging too.

Didn't Sloan have to go and see his married mistress in the on call room all the residents had learned not to enter?

Yeah, that one.

There was the sound of running footsteps and Jackson turned around just to see a boy crash into the hospital. He was tall with dark hair that was shaved roughly on the sides and he had that starving hungry look that Jackson had seen the street kids that followed Lexie around (and probably worked for her dealer) whenever she came into the hospital. His jeans were ripped and muddied and his boots caked in mud and he was bleeding from a rather nasty gash on his cheek.

But still there was something oddly familiar about him.

He forced himself to shake his head. Not every boy was his boy that he had given up for adoption, correction-which he had been forced to give up for adoption because it had been the best, or so he'd been told...no...So he'd done, he'd put that behind him now, time to focus on his job. He was an Avery after all.

He didn't even realise Jackson was stood there.

"Fuck Lexie" he said looking annoyed. "Couldn't you have gone somewhere else to score, Jimmy's fucking furious..." he trailed off when he realised that Jackson and Sloan were both stood there and he rolled his eyes.

"Oh fucking hell" he said completely ignoring the fact that the blood was now dripping off his chin and down his neck. He rolled his eyes again and something about how utterly annoyed he was made Jackson snort in his own amusement.

"Avery" Sloan said looking board, "Go stich the street rat up and I'll deal with this"

If Sloan was a better plastic surgeon Jackson knew he wouldn't be allowed to stich up a kid's face regardless of where he came from. But Sloan was more interested in Addison Shepherd than he ever was in being a doctor and the man was beginning to give him a headache so he nodded and forced the kid into another room.

"Fucking dickhead" the kid spat at Sloan's back. Jackson noticed that his fingernails were broken and his knuckles bruised. He had clearly been in a fight.

"Knife" he asked once cleaning the scratch. The kid grinned looking feral.

"Piece of glass" he said beaming. "But I got the other fucker right in the leg. Fucker things he can take over Lexie's space and the space she keeps for us. Best shot at safety I've had in a while"

He stopped taking abruptly.

God knows why Jackson asked what he had asked next.

"What do your folks think about that?"

The kid abruptly turned his head and spat on the floor scowling. It was perhaps the most dangerous feral, facial expression Jackson had ever seen in a kid that young, hell he had to be what fifteen?

"Last foster father I had tried to kill me in a drunken rage" he said finally. "And that was foster father number seventeen so what does that tell you?"

Jackson really didn't know what to say to that. Instead he tilted the kid's face to the side so he could get a good look at what he was working with.

"I had a kid once" he said without warning. What the fuck had he said that for? But now he had started it seemed he couldn't stop.

"He dead?"

"No" Jackson said finally. "I gave him up for adoption. A long time ago."

The boy snorted once as Jackson ran the stich through his face. He'd give the boy this he was brave. He was taking all of it without so much of a wince.

"You got a place to go?" he asked once he was done. The boy winced feeling his face. "I gotta go talk to..."

"Lexie's dealer?" Jackson supplied him with.

"If you call CPS I'll be gone before they get here" the kid supplied him with.

Jackson nodded. Normally he would have done but he also knew Chief Grey didn't like headlines unless they were good ones and a CPS case surrounding the hospital whose Chief had just won the Harper Avery award for the third time running was bound to create bad press. And that was really not worth the hassle.

But there was something about letting this kid go off into the great unknown without so much of a warning that really didn't sit well with him.

"If you need anything" he said pulling back the curtain "My name is Jackson Avery, come and find me if you need medical assistance ok?"

The kid eyed him for a long second as if gauging his trustworthiness and then jerked his head in something Jackson supposed was a nod taking the hand that was offered to him.

Something shot through him them, something he couldn't name. Something that made him want to hold onto the kid so he reached for a bandage and hastily scrawled his pager number on it. There was very little he could do but he could do that.

"Come back tonight and Lexie will be out of surgery" he said finally.

"She gonna need it?" the kid asked. Jackson nodded. "Maybe" he said finally.

"Thanks Jackson" the kid said finally.

"Your name? Hey..." he said when he saw the kid looked like he was going to interrupt him. "If this is too work I have to trust you too"

"Hugo" the kid said finally.

"Last name?"

"Just Hugo" Hugo said as if this conversation was boring to him.

"Ok" Jackson knew a losing battle when he saw one.

"Oh and Jackson" Hugo said once he got the OR doors that Jackson had very nicely walked him too.

"Yeah Hugo?"

"You might wanna do something about the red head. Because she looks like she wants to pull you into a closet and fuck you for all it's worth" and with that he was gone.

Jackson blinked. He turned to see April standing near the nurse's station watching him. She flashed him a smile and then turned back to her work. He smiled back and then remembered that Avery's were raised not to do anything with any kind of humour attached.

* * *

 _In an alternate universe he would have given up his boy he supposed. In this universe, the real one he had kept him._

 _Perhaps he would have been the best resident, perhaps Charles would have survived that shooting. Perhaps April and him would have been more than friends or not friends at all. Perhaps they would have hated each other and Hugo could have known nothing but distrust when he would have known all the successes that his grandfather wanted for him, had pressured him towards before he was even out of dippers, when his father had left and the focus had been switched onto him._

 _Things he had once admitted to himself could have been very different for him._

 _But really. Somethings were always going to be the same._

* * *

 **Next Chapter-8x14-All You Need Is Love-We return back to the original storyline. Jackson finally makes his decision regarding Lexie and Hugo meets someone new when he prepares to spend another Valentine's Day at the hospital.**

 **And please let me know what you think. **


	56. 8x14-All You Need Is Love

**Hi. Another chapter here hope you all enjoy.**

 **You asked, you begged, you got annoyed with me and finally here it is, the chapter you were all looking forward too. The end of Jexie-or whatever the hell Jackson and Lexie were called. Now in the last ten episodes! we can finally get some really Japril relationship scenes.**

 **Please read and review.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine just Aidan and Hugo, new character Bonnie and an old character that will be returning.**

 **And for those of you thinking that Bonnie is a love interest you might be right but I wont spoil It much more.**

 **Enjoy and please everyone keep safe.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 56-8x14-All You Need Is Love

We return back to the original storyline. Jackson finally makes his decision regarding Lexie and Hugo meets someone new when he prepares to spend another Valentine's Day at the hospital.

* * *

The day after what seemed like the strangest dream Jackson woke up with such a strange sense of clarity that he did not know what to do for a second. Oh he knew what to do, but he did not know how. Today was Valentine's Day. Wasn't it a bit cruel to dump your girlfriend of nearly a year on the day that was supposed to signify love?

But then again there was no plans tonight and if that wasn't a sign then what was? Even if it was a quickie in the on call room he had always looked forwards to something on Valentine's Day. Hell that was probably one of the main reasons why he was in so much trouble when he was fifteen.

When he got up this morning it was to the news that April had pulled of a night shift and therefore wouldn't be home until lunch. Lexie had already gone as well and that really would have been the final nail in the coffin had he not known that he was in love with another woman.

And a man would have to be blind not to notice that she was still in love with Mark Sloan. A part of Jackson had realised this after the ballgame oh so many months ago but he had never been able to admit it to himself weather it was because he had clung to the idea of at the very least having a warm body to cling to at night or because he had wanted to prove to the gossiping hospital staff that he was not some hopeless workaholic that would never get love again because of some mistake he made when he was a teenager.

Not that he would call Hugo a mistake but...well...he had been too young to be doing anything. It was one of those lessons that he had drilled into Hugo when he had hit thirteen. He was fully convinced he did not need to have that conversation with Aidan because Aidan was...well not Hugo.

Somehow he always saw Aidan as the one that would prioritise his career over his family. The boys were both back at school now and in their penultimate year of High School. Very soon they would start looking at colleges, very soon Hugo would be turning sixteen, right after the boards. The thought of that made him feel sick, made him feel older than he was and more alone than ever. In fact if anything made him more aware of all the time that had gone by and the very little time he had left before his son went to college and...Well became a man it was when he came back home from work and found Hugo making his own coffee or dinner or just being self-sufficient.

And there was also another problem that would soon be looming.

Hugo was already fifteen, hell he'd be turning sixteen soon enough and he was also an Avery for better or worse. When they turned fifteen Jackson knew from experience that the Avery children were trunked out to the board meetings and forced to file paperwork on medical decisions, Jackson also knew that many of them struggled with his grandfather's dominating medical opinions. He had a cousin that had forfeited a medical treatment because she had been pro-life and he remembered his grandfather calling her an uneducated, unfit doctor.

He had stayed away as soon as he could see an out. So far he thought he had done quite well but he suspected that his mother would be one of those grandparents that would live through her grandchildren and he was sure that it would come true. He had refused his spot time and time again and had managed to hold of Hugo's seat when he had become fifteen because of the shooting at both the hospital and the school. But now he knew his grandfather would come looking to educate another Avery and he wasn't sure if he could stop him.

Maybe he should take a leaf out of his father's book and disappear to...where had he las been sighted? Montana? Maybe he should disappear in the middle of the night and change his phone number and never look back. Take Hugo, Aidan and perhaps April and live in a little log wooden cabin where nobody could find them.

He drove to work contemplating this and when he arrived realised that if there was ever a pipe dream that even in his wildest dreams he knew wouldn't come true then that would be it.

Lexie was already in surgery when he got there so he had to find something to do. Apparently Sloan was looking for him and according to one of the nurses he had shaved due to his new girlfriend liking him better like that. Jackson winced, if there was ever a reason to dump Lexie then that was it. He had a feeling once she heard about this then she would dump him and...Well...he'd like to come out of this relationship with something left that might have once resembled his pride and dignity.

But all of that went flying out the window when just as Hugo had arrived, Aidan staying behind for baseball practice, a car crashed through the ER doors nearly knocking the estranged Cristina and Owen clear across the room and sending everyone flying.

* * *

Hugo had been at the ER all of five minutes when the car came speeding into the middle of the room. He had thankfully been far away enough from the blast to not get a face full of glass but he was willing to bet that he had at least bruised his side falling to the ground.

Righting himself he swore. A hand was pulling him up and Hugo knew who it was without looking. It was his father.

"You ok?" he asked and Hugo nodded brushing what seemed like a weeks' worth of dirt of his jeans. Did they ever clean this damn place?

"Go" he said his voice shaking. His father shot him another concerned look and Hugo shrugged. He was not hurt but he was willing to bet that whoever was in that car was and his Dad needed to go where he was needed. He supposed that this was the moment where he was supposed to be a man, too stand on his own two feet.

What was it about the Avery's that made this moment in their lives dramatic as shit? This moment for him was a car crashing through the door of the hospital nearly missing him and for his father he knew it was...becoming one he supposed.

Whatever the hell was keeping him up at night Hugo really did hope it was solved soon. The boards were looming ever nearer especially as Christmas was now over and he knew his father well enough for something to be keeping him up at night at this point in his career, then it was something big.

Hugo just hoped he hadn't gotten Lexie pregnant. He might be staying out of the situation right now however but at some point he had to put his foot down and having a little brother or sister who was half Grey and all the trouble that came with the Grey sisters (and he had been in an OR while one had faced down a shooter and that was saying something) then he was not going to be able to keep his opinions to himself he knew that.

There was a soft sound next to him and he turned to see a girl around his own age staring at the crash. There was a second where he stared at her. She had brown hair stuck on a knot on top of her head and she was in a school uniform. Hugo knew that he was not the only person that had a parent that worked full time on the surgical ward, surgical nurses and anaesthesiologists also had children his age. God knows if he knew who it was though. Clearly someone whose parents earned more than his did he thought looking at the fancy private school uniform.

"Hey" she said swearing under her breath. "Never a dull moment in this place is there?"

"Nope" Hugo said finally because if there was ever a truth then that was it right there. There never was a dull moment at this damn hospital. If a TV producer wanted to script something based on here he or she would only have to be here five seconds. The relationships alone would be enough for one season without fleshing out the material.

"You're the surgeon's kid" she said without looking at him. Hugo nodded.

"Bonnie" she said holding out her hand.

"Hugo" he replied back shaking it.

"Nurse's kid?"

"No, Dad's what you would call a 'Gas Man' in the OR. Well he's the head of them, hasn't been in an OR in years"

Hugo nodded because he wasn't really sure what he was going to say to that.

"Well" Bonnie said finally, "This has been fun but I gotta go someplace and mourn being single on Valentine's Day" she shrugged. "Fuck it. Cover me I'm gonna steal some flowers. This isn't going there and that red head seems to be turning this into a florist anyhow" she flashed him a grin and then disappeared.

As much as Hugo loathed to admit it, she had left him stunned into silence.

And here he had thought he was the only strange 'hospital legacy' around here.

He stood there shaking his head for a second before he left in order to find a safe place to sit and wait until Aidan came back. He would have to text his best friend and tell him to take the longer entrance. Though there was the chances that a seat in an OR would be free. Car crashes and prickly flowers did create some interesting trauma cases.

And he was due the sight of some blood.

* * *

Jackson found Lexie sitting under the stairs in the hallway. Her hair was loose over her shoulders and they were shaking, something had happened in either an OR, or with another patient because he recognised the signs as a Doctor that had lost a patient that reminded them of themselves once upon a time. He slid into a space next to her and she looked up from her knees smiling though it did not meet her eyes.

There was a part of him in that moment that knew that she knew what was coming. What he was going to say. And he was willing to bet that he had beaten her by a good few hours. Today either way he had been going home a single man.

"Were over aren't we?" she asked quietly. Jackson nodded. It was hard to admit that there was no emotion in her voice and that he felt none whatsoever when he thought of her other than friendship. He would like to stay friends with Lexie. Underneath it all she was a great surgeon with a passion for studying the brain and she could drink so many of them under the table.

"How does it feel" she asked quietly, "When you look at April and she's just fine with someone else or by herself and you think, that's the worst thing you've ever done. Letting them go. Because only know you realise what a mistake that is"

She turned to him and her expression was so like a woebegone child that Jackson couldn't help slipping an arm around her shoulders. Lexie sniffed once.

"It's not that I don't like you Jackson it's just..."

"Yeah" Jackson said because he understood what she was trying to say. They had both been in love with other people and not known it the entire time that they were together, in hindsight there had been no hope for them whatsoever.

The door opened and speaking of the devil in navy blue scrubs Mark Sloan walked in. He had been clearly updating some sort of chart and was taking the stairs because he was looking down when he walked in. Any hope that Jackson had had that he would pass and not see them was ruined by his boss looking up to see his crying ex hugging his protégée.

Mark was either over Lexie completely or had matured enough to not start a fight because he stared at them for a second and then disappeared back through the door he had just came from. Jackson blinked in surprise but Lexie gave a great sniff and he understood her to be near tears again which was really not what he wanted.

He thought of April and then of Mark and then of him and Lexie sitting there under the stairs and tightened his arm around what had always been and what would always be his friend.

"It feels a bit like this" he confessed and Lexie nodded.

They sat there for some time he knew.

Happy Valentine's Day indeed.

* * *

 **Next Chapter-8x15-Have You Seen Me Lately?-Jackson and Lexie adjust to their new working relationship. Hugo adjusts to the news that his father is single again, Aidan is utterly sick with all of this pining and takes matters into his own hands, Mark teaches Doctor Bailey a thing about his residents and the residents that seriously start planning for their oral boards.**

 **And let me know what you all think. Only ten more chapters left until the end of this story!**


	57. 8x15-Have You Seen Me Lately?

**Hi, so here is another chapter, let me know what you think, this resolves the Lexie arc and now I promise you we can finally get onto the Japril.**

 **Also, with this posting there are eight chapters left for this story.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing Is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

 **Again this chapter might have deviated from the synopsis given but I promise you it is a good one.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 57-8x15-Have You Seen Me Lately?

Jackson and Lexie adjust to their new working relationship. Hugo adjusts to the news that his father is single again, Aidan is utterly sick with all of this pining and takes matters into his own hands, Mark teaches Doctor Bailey a thing about his residents and the residents that seriously start planning for their oral boards.

* * *

Jackson had thought that perhaps the breakup with Lexie would make things awkward between them and it was a thing he had hoped would never come to pass. He and Lexie were good friends, she was a great resident and a skilled surgeon, and she showed compassion to her interns that he had never seen before, because the whole point of residency was to be as big of a dickhead to your interns as was humanly possible because it always made you feel better.

But the only people in the house who were not making this awkward happened to be, Lexie, himself, Alex, Aidan and Derek. Derek he suspected because he was trying so desperately to build a house and had a toddler running around underfoot as well as a wife who was trying to desperately cram as much revision into her overworked brain as the rest of them were, Jackson knew the feeling only too well and with a smug superiority thanked his lucky stars he was over that stage. Aidan because...well unless it was a pot of strong coffee nobody and nothing got past that boy since before noon. And Alex was...well...Alex.

Everyone else was struggling to wrap their heads around it something that Jackson could not understand. Meredith was torn between her sister and the fact that they were friends, April had taken the news that he was now single with a small smile and then a hasty retreat to the bedroom upon which she did not return for at least two hours and Hugo had promptly spat a mouthful of coffee clear across the room and then had stuttered down some kind of speech that sounded both rehearsed and not rehearsed all at the same time. Honestly it had been both unnerving and amusing at the same time.

All in all he didn't know what was going on when it came to his son. Hugo was clearly sitting on something that he didn't want Jackson to find out and that kept him awake at night when he knew it should have. He had the biggest exam's in his life coming up soon and Mark was not helping. Since admitting that he could actually teach and teach well he wanted to it seemed, pass on all of the knowledge he had picked up over his admittedly brilliant career to Jackson. Therefore revising had become important to both of them and there was no way he could allow himself even the smallest of distraction.

And even though the break up with Lexie had happened and everything seemed to be on the right path towards normalcy he knew that unless this issue with his son was resolved soon it would keep him awake until the early hours of the morning each night. Jackson had done the whole sleepless thing more than once and he was finally getting more than four hours a night and wanted to keep those hours with all he had.

However he was struggling on how to broach the subject. Gone were the days where all he had to do was sit his boy down and buy him a hot chocolate and ask him what was wrong. His boy was slowly becoming a man right in front of him and it had never hurt more than in this moment where he had no idea how to sit his own kid down and ask him what the hell was going on and why he was watching Jackson as if his father was seconds away from exploding.

* * *

However the long overdue conversation that Jackson and his son were going to have-and yeah it was a going to have conversation of that much he knew-it had to be put on hold in order to help Mark fight of the ever protective Doctor Bailey. A patient that she loved and had helped for so many years was in for her final operation and the woman was making Jackson very sure by drowning him in reading material on a surgery he had already rehearsed about sixty times in order to showcase her disapproval that Mark wanted him on his team and not her.

It had resulted in Jackson nearly cutting of the wrong part of her face when she had hissed so loudly over his shoulder that his hands had nearly dropped the tools into the mass of skin tissue. Even Sloan had been annoyed and it had taken Jackson a fully-fledged five minutes in order to get his head back in the game which for him was unprecedented, even when Bailey had stormed from the room and he could clear his head and try to focus once more.

"That woman. You know she once called me a whore?" he said to Jackson and well there was another conversation that he so didn't want to have with his normal boss. He shook his head as they were washing their hands off in the scrub room.

"Oh" he said finally. Mark took that strange reply at face value and thankfully didn't ask for Jackson's opinion.

"So" he said finally as they finished drying their hands. "You and Lexie ended things then?"

Jackson stared at him. The man was really staring at him now and Jackson could tell that despite the fact that they he had been now in a relationship for a few months with another woman he had never really fallen out of love with his 'Little Grey'.

"Yeah" he said finally trying to communicate that he was alright with the idea of Lexie and Sloan getting their happy ending.

Sloan stared at him for a long time and then nodded. Jackson didn't know just what he had taken from his face but he hoped that maybe things would settle down when it came to Lexie and Sloan. If two people deserved a happy ending more than...well...him, then he hoped it was Lexie and Mark that got it, not some sort of tragic death in the middle of the woods, which was not an altogether unrealistic possibility when you thought about it.

Instead Jackson took his que to leave in order to finish the charts that so desperately needed doing in order to go and find his son and finally have a confrontation about what the hell was wrong.

* * *

Hugo had been sat at the kitchen table slowly weighing up his options over a bowl of microwaved ravioli, staring at his phone. one of their older friends from before the shooting was throwing a party next week and Hugo was wondering how he was going to get away with going without letting slip that the party would probably contain alcohol and drugs. Not that he was going to take anything but living in a house with almost six doctors meant that health concerns trumped...well...everything else.

His Dad staggered in sometime around six. He had done a six to six shift and Hugo knew that for the next few months until May rolled around he was not going to see his father due to the cramming for all the boards. He too had noticed an increase in the workload that they were being given and they were not even close to dreaming of a graduation. And yet a part of him knew that soon he might have to start looking at other schools.

Especially if they were to be moving out of state.

His dad grabbed his beer and the chicken thing that April had made earlier, cooked it in the microwave and had sat down without saying a word and then as Hugo had been half proof reading his essay on the 'Roman Advancement in the Western World' for history and half trying to pretend his father staring at him wasn't creepy when he said very clearly.

"So do you wanna tell me what's bothering you about me and Lexie breaking up?"

Christ. His first reaction was to tell his Dad exactly what was going on but before he could he remembered the promise that he had made to both himself and Aidan many, many times. He would not get involved in his father's love life. He had struggled with this for too long and now with their relationships and their lives finally looking good he was not about to ruin it because he was struggling with the news that while his father was dating someone he didn't like the idea of and now overnight he had become apparently single.

"There is nothing bothering me about you being single and going out and finding another girlfriend...again..." Hugo said with what he liked to think was dignity. That was what he liked to think.

His father shot him a look that said he was not falling for his response in the slightest. Damn it. Hugo had always hated that unnatural gift his Dad had, had when it had come to him lying. He was sure it was a side effect of being raised by Catherine Avery, that woman could sniff out a lie like a sniffer dog in an airport on high alert.

Hugo resisted the urge to immediately stick his head outside the window in the off chance someone would come and end this conversation before it got really dark but to no avail.

"It's not my place to question how you go about with your relationships"

Oh crap, that sounded fake even to him. And that meant that nothing would change, his father had now caught the sight of something worrying. He was never gonna stop now.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Well, he may as well get this conversation over with. He closed the screen of the computer with a snap and resisted the urge to clench his hands into fists.

"I mean...look you raised me when you were a kid no questions asked and no complaints and I get that that was a difficult and you had to put a lot of things in your life on hold...and..." he struggled shaking his head as he tried to find the words. "I don't wanna get in the way of you being...well...happy. I didn't say anything when it was Lexie. It was hardly my place to say that it had taken me off guard"

His Dad gazed at him.

"I asked you" he said simply and Hugo nodded because yeah his Dad had asked him.

"I thought you meant someone else" it was on the tip of his tongue to say the name that was hovering so desperately between the two of them like a falling sword but he couldn't.

"Oh" his Dad said finally, clearly he was thinking hard.

"Ok" he said again when the silence between them had gone on for far too long.

He stood up and crossed the table so that they were standing there facing each other instead of sitting across the table.

"Let's get something straight right here and now" he said and Hugo knew that tone. That tone meant business and that meant that Hugo had to listen up right now. Or else.

"You are the only person in my life whose opinion matters right now, right now and forever and if you had a problem about Lexie or any other woman in my life then all you had to do was tell me. I wouldn't have resented you for it. You should know that by now"

It wasn't a perfect answer but this Hugo had to acknowledge was not a perfect world. And this went a long way to soothing his fears and his doubts. This was his Dad. They had been a team for a long time and he had always known that that wasn't going to change-or had he?

Oh this whole thing was confusing.

Instead he nodded and allowed himself to be pulled into a hug that was more for his benefit than for his Dads although that might be reversed when he thought about it for longer than a second. He shook his head, Lexie, April whoever it was they could come and go.

But he and his Dad.

They were forever.

* * *

 **Next Chapter-8x16-If Only You Were Lonely-In which Mark encourages Jackson to relieve his stress, encourages April to help him, encourages Hugo to see if Jackson and April are a thing were perusing and watches the entire thing unfold before his very eyes. Most of next chapter might be from Mark Sloan's perspective.**

 **And let me know what you think I will update as soon as I can. **


	58. 8x16-If Only You Were Lonely

**Hi, so here is another chapter and a note on the future of this story.**

 **I am going to end this story with episode 8x22-Let The Bad Times Roll-which will be renamed as the epilogue. I am doing this because Migration and Flight, (8x23-8x24) set the series up for season nine which I am not writing and have been struggling to find a way around the main plot of those episodes which is of course the plane crash is the main part of. Therefore we have six more chapters left of this story.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine but Hugo and Aidan.**

 **I wanted this chapter to be entirely in Mark's point of view he was just too funny in that episode and also writing in his point of view was a new challenge for me so I hope it came off alright, also this was a way for me to express my continued anguish at the fate of Lexie and Mark on the show.**

 **This entire story is gearing towards one big happy ending because we never seem to get that in real life so the last renamed chapter will feature the end and a future epilogue which sees all past and present characters happy.**

 **Please Let me know what you think.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 58-8x16-If Only You Were Lonely

In which Mark encourages Jackson to relieve his stress, encourages April to help him, encourages Hugo to see if Jackson and April are a thing were perusing and watches the entire thing unfold before his very eyes. Most of next chapter might be from Mark Sloan's perspective.

* * *

Mark Sloan was having a good day. And it really was. He had a nice girlfriend, a beautiful daughter, a good job and more importantly Callie had Sofia for the night so Mark could go home to the nice girlfriend he had. There was really nothing wrong with his life, after so many years that he had lusted for so many women that he shouldn't have done it was nice to find one that...well...that Derek approved off.

And he had a rather talented protégée from a prominently good surgical family so as he woke up that morning and went into work with a smile to the newest nurse Mark Sloan was very pleased to say that he was having a good day. That was at nine am however, at nine-forty five something happened that put a damper on the very good day that he was having.

Lexie Grey walked into the ER with a smile and a twinkle in her dark eyes.

Fucking hell.

Lexie Grey was the problem in his otherwise ordinary life. He had thought after Addison Montgomery there was no point in trying to find love because Addison had been everything. She had been beautiful, smart, she had understood the medicine that had bound them in a way that he and Derek had never been able to gel with. With Derek it had all been about the competition, the fact that they were desperate to get one over the other, with Addison he supposed it had been about something else, something that was as deadly and addictive.

And the Lexie had happened.

Lexie was addictive as well. She was stunning in every way. Age had never really come into it even when Derek had broken his nose proving his point. And even now, when they had broken up and moved on he still found himself thinking about her, he still found his pathetically worn out heart skipping a beat whenever he saw her smiling at a patient whose name she always seemed to know. Hell if there was a doctor that would break the rules for a patient and smuggle puppies in to cheer up the kids then it was Lexie, she had the right balance of sweet mixed in with the deadly.

He swallowed harshly as she turned and walked past him her dark hair covering her face so that he could not see her expression. Ever since she and Jackson had broken up she had taken care around him like he was going to bite her which he found worrying.

Ok, so he had been a bit of dick to Karev when she had dated him but realistically he couldn't be blamed for that, he had been hurting, his heart broken for the second time because he had lost both Addison and Lexie to Karev who was...well...kinda a dick back then anyway.

But he couldn't be a monster to Jackson because while it was admittedly so very hard to be mean to the kid he was also invested in keeping him on the plastics path, Mark knew he had inspired many to take up a career in plastics and he was happy for them he was but he had never really become inspired to teach until he had come across Jackson who not only allowed him to teach his way but who had actually shown the same skill and dedication that Mark remembered himself having.

So therefore when he had heard that the kid was dating Lexie he had kept his mouth shut and tried to move on and then just when he thought he was getting somewhere...boom. They went and broke up and it was game over and he was back to square one. Him pretending that his heart had not done something funny and probably concerning when he had overheard that statement and Lexie pretending that he was part of the wallpaper.

So now all he had to focus on was getting Avery through the boards a thing that was proving more and more difficult as seen when he had snapped at both paramedic and patient when his temper had gotten the best of him.

Mark knew intimately what was wrong, they were weeks away from the boards and Avery had not gotten...anything...since he and Lexie had parted ways and if the rumours were true (not that Mark listened in on conversations that took place between two teenagers but they had been talking loudly and he had really had nothing to do) they had not been doing much before either.

That shouldn't make him quite so pleased but it did.

But what had really captured his attention was the whispers that seemed to be taking place about Avery and Kepner.

Mark went home that night with that nugget of information, handed Sofia off to Arizona, poured himself a glass of wine and considered very carefully what April Kepner and Jackson Avery being together would look like and if it was worth getting behind.

He still went to bed with the question unanswered but now it was getting ridiculous.

* * *

There was a pause when he stood there watching April Kepner tick of cards. Good Lord she and Avery were studying together on cards like you did when you were in High School and your finals were upcoming and you and the pretty girl where trying to cover up the fact that you wanted to do it with the other after the exam results. The sad thing was, that in this case it was true. The two of them were dancing around each other in a way that made Mark feel slightly ill, and he had lived with Derek and Meredith for too long-he had always thought after long and torturous debacle he would be immune to such pining glances and gooey eyes but it seemed that he was not.

It was a miracle that those two kids putting up with all of this pining were still somewhat sane if you wanted his opinion, he hadn't even been living with Meredith and Derek and even he had struggled to understand what was going on with them, if he was being completely honest he still did. There was a pause where he considered what to do when a stroke of genius came to him so quick and so fast he almost became lightheaded.

He would have to get Avery and Kepner in bed, for the good of the team. Yes, Kepner was a team player, a competent surgeon and a loyal friend, more importantly she was a pragmatic doctor who could surely understand that a little bit of sex between friends never hurt anyone-he, Addison and Derek aside. Therefore he slid up to the red haired doctor as she was applying the resident's surgeries onto the board and rather casually he thought asked her to shag his protégée for the good of both of their surgical examination.

There was a pause where she stood staring at him with both a combination of shock and...Unless he was imagining it...interest?

"Doctor Sloan" she said taking a step backwards and looking at him with shock and now indignation. Ah, this would be the wrong answer to his suggestion. Instead she viewed him with a look that would have made a toad quiver and tremble, he really had to give Kepner credit, and she was learning that look of 'distain at the stupidity of the male race' that was patented and trademarked by the terrifying and wonderful Doctor Bailey. She shot him another look and then turned around her red hair flying so that he was nearly blinded.

He allowed himself a second to imagine just what Jackson Avery saw in her and then turned around least someone accuse him of sexually harassing the residents now he was done with the nurses (because some grudges never died) when he caught sight of Lexie bent down and talking to a small child that was on the verge of being released. He couldn't be more than five and was clearly still struggling due to the feeding tube but he hugged Lexie who was clearly delighted by it and hugged him back. He allowed himself a second to imagine her with Sofia in her arms before the image hurt so much that he had to look away.

He turned to see Hugo Avery watching him. There was a very good chance that the boy had seen...well Mark trying to score on his father's behalf and therefore he found he was slightly nervous about what the kid would think. While he did not know exactly the story between Avery and Baby Avery's mother he did know that she was dead and that Jackson had never really stretched his wings in the aftermath.

Yeah, Lexie could talk as well and not just to her sister. In fact Mark was willing to bet the coffee that would keep him awake until this afternoon puzzling over how to cheer up Avery that Lexie had been the first girlfriend in a long time. And that was both sad and stupid all at the same time. But there was something about Baby Avery's eyes that made him want to speak the truth to him, make sure that he knew what Mark was trying to do was not pissing upon his mother's memory.

There was something about the kid that had amplified since Mark himself had become a father. But he honestly did not know what to say, he wanted to say something but he couldn't form the words as to speak what was running through his brain. Instead he closed his eyes involuntarily when he heard Lexie laugh. He tried to think of Julia but he couldn't.

He opened his eyes again to find Hugo had moved in front of him and he struggled to control his emotions. In the background behind the kid's head he could see Jackson and April talking, April tipped back her head and laughed and Jackson who she was talking too smiled that same smile he showed whenever the kid was in his eye line.

There was a pause when he turned back to Hugo whose eyes were very dark.

"Oh if only you were lonely" the kid quipped smiling. He patted Mark on the arm in a way that felt kinda condescending.

"Don't think you haven't thought of it" he said smiling with that look of someone that knew that he was the smartest person in the room he moved past Mark and down the corridor.

What the ever loving hell?

But Jackson was now leaving April alone and Lexie had disappeared down the same corridor that Hugo had and Mark was just too so confused. Until he wasn't.

The kid new that they both had feelings for each other. And for whatever reason he was going to pretend that he didn't or at least stay out of it because he thought that it would solve itself.

Mark had been a victim of love at first sight, or near as damn it twice (well three times if you counted his daughter but really just twice) and he knew what he was looking at. Maybe Jackson and April were the real deal or maybe they were just another by-product of pre board stress he really didn't know but he did know that even though he was with someone he felt a horrible loneliness when he looked at them.

He sighed motioning Jackson to hand him the charts and wondering how in hell Hugo Avery and Aidan Blackwood managed to put up with them all. At some point he knew, he was going to have to buy them both a drink and get to know their secret.

He caught another smile April Kepner sent Jackson along with that soft look that made her look so older than she was and decided trying not to smile himself, that it would have to be soon.

* * *

 **And that's it. Next chapter will be up soon.**

 **Next Chapter-8x17-One Step Too Far-Catherine Avery returns with a guest. Catherine and Aidan bond over their shared backgrounds leading Jackson to wonder if his mother is mellowing in her old age and April and Jackson end up in a compromising situation that is observed by two smug teenagers. **


	59. 8x17-One Step Too Far

**Hi, so here is another chapter, this story will be finished in a made update so therefore this and the other five chapters will be posted all together.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 59-8x17-One Step Too Far

Catherine Avery returns with a guest. Catherine and Aidan bond over their shared backgrounds leading Jackson to wonder if his mother is mellowing in her old age and April and Jackson end up in a compromising situation that is observed by a very smug teenager.

* * *

His mother was coming back. His mother was coming back.

Someone had told her he had broken up with his girlfriend.

And he was willing to bet he knew who as well.

Jackson had been considerably ignoring his mother as well as could be expected that being said she was running around with a woman that was her latest test rabbit and someone that Jackson was willing to bet his next pay check on that she had brought along because she was attractive and he was now single.

"Did you have to tell her?" he bemoaned for the third time that morning as they were making their way to the car. Hugo looked up. In a rare occasion of generosity Jackson had offered to give him and Aidan a lift and it appeared that going back to school even though they were more than a few months in was still taking it's toll on them. Aidan was still half asleep his coffee cup and the grilled cheese April had given them both clutched in his hand.

* * *

Since they had moved in together the four of them he was aware that they were looking to the outsider like a very strange family. They could have passed as a mother, a father and their two sons and if Jackson was aware of it then he was willing to bet the only other person that had picked up on this was Aidan. Hugo and April had slipped into their roles as some sort of makeshift family with an ease that Jackson could never understand and wasn't sure if he wanted to but Aidan he could tell sometimes looked at the four of them in the morning with questioning eye.

However his mother coming back was not the least of his worries. It was getting nearer and nearer the boards so much so the boys were beginning to just order take out and sit in front of the TV for most of the night while Jackson and April went into either one of their rooms and fire of questions at each other. Hugo and Aidan had tried to help and Jackson was appreciative of both of their efforts no matter how...misguided they were, but they didn't know most of the medical terms and it was hard to get the right answer when a fifteen year old did not get the difference between the steps that took place between a lung transplant and how they were different than a heart transplant.

So most of the time the boys were either out or in or in Aidan's case working. The boy had manged to find himself a job at the local coffee house but Hugo had not wanted to join in claiming that he was untrainable in that position, Jackson was willing to bet there was another reason especially when he caught Hugo on the computer looking up medical terms. He would have asked but the boards were right in front of him and his mother had rang him to inform him that she would be down to work on a case and all other things had gone out the window when coupled with that...horrifying truth.

Instead he focused on avoiding his mother and her new pet rabbit as he had called them (medical students that though working under Catherine Avery was the best thing ever only to have their dreams crushed as soon as they understood his mother's exacting standards) and focusing on the cards April would wave in front of his face instead of her pretty, pretty, sweet smelling hair.

Seriously she had changed her shampoo from coconut to strawberry and it was distracting.

Didn't she know that Jackson noticed these things?

* * *

Anyhow he had known that both he and Hugo were going to have to face the consequences for ignoring his mother which was why on the day before he was due to go out with this woman, (and he ignored April's scathing look when she opened the door for this woman whose name she could really not remember because it was just easier) he forced his son in the room where his mother was.

Hugo who had not looked up from his phone since arriving at the hospital shot him a rather betrayed look.

"Oh don't look like that" Jackson said when he caught sight of his son's expression.

"If I have to suffer through this then you have too"

"Please" Hugo said smiling at him without any hint of warmth. "You at least have a somewhat hot date tonight. What do I get out of grandma coming to visit?"

"Cash" Jackson said because he knew it was true. Hugo considered this for a second calculating.

"Huh" was all he said in response and Jackson knew that he had given his son food for thought.

His mother was reading a chart when he opened the door to the conference room Hugo traipsing behind him but the entire time that they were debating who was going to go into the room first. What they were surprised to see, what both of them were surprised to see was Aidan sat on the couch on his phone and a coffee cup in his hand.

"Oh what the hell?" Hugo asked framing Jackson's question perfectly.

Aidan looked up from his phone and winked.

"Aidan was just looking over a report I wrote on the basics of the brain once a long time ago when I was flirting with the idea of Nuro" his mother replied. Jackson blinked. Hugo raised an eyebrow.

"And by the way Jackson" his mother said with her eagle eyes that Jackson remembered with startling clarity had been fixed on him when he had come home fifteen years ago and told her that...yeah he had something to talk about concerning his girlfriend. "I didn't think I would like the idea of you taking in someone else but..." and here she pointed at Aidan who smirked.

"I like this one"

"What?" Hugo asked looking like the world had just been pulled out from under him. Jackson could understand his son's confusion mixed in with the mingled disbelief and horror that the scene was bringing out with him. Since when did Aidan and his mother talk? Since when did they know each other's coffee order? Since when did they communicate in any way shape or form? Hell the last time that Jackson had spoken to his mother she had barely mentioned her grandson never mind the kid that was now living with them because his parents had seemingly abandoned him. All he had got was a load of questions about Richard Webber that had both been disturbing and frightening given the fact that as far as Jackson was aware the man was still walking around very much considering himself a married man.

"Ok" he said resisting the urge to loosen his tie. "I am gonna go and get this meal, dinner, Avery thing over with" he turned to his son. "I will be back later, don't do anything stupid and don't try and be funny around your grandmother"

"Oh no need for that" his mother said with a ruthlessness that would have put even the most hardened of surgeons to shame.

"We're going out for dinner"

* * *

"Good God was it that bad?" April asked later that night when Jackson was able to ditch the woman whose name he still did not know at her hotel and make it home. The boys she told him were full of steak, lobster, chips and chocolate and were in bed watching a re-run of some Law and Order and Jackson collapsed on April's green bedspread feeling older than he had ever felt in his life and that was including the two o'clock and the four o'clock and the six o'clock feedings.

There was a pause where she allowed him to lie on her bed resting her head on her pillows kicking of his shoes and socks. Somewhere along the line his jacket and tie had been discarded and he had pulled out his dress shirt. He felt utterly exhausted and he knew that it had more to do with the visit from his mother rather than any work commitments.

April lay down next to him her hair fanning around her.

"Did you know that my mom and Aidan Talk?"

"Yeah" April said not looking at him. "He talks to you know. Catherine's his type of person I think, he's spent his whole life around driven people. I think he knows how to deal with them. Problem is your Mom is the first to take notice in him too"

Jackson gave a sigh trying to indicate how very tired he was of his mother but instead he thought it might have turned out to be yawn. Without even looking at the revision cards he fell asleep there on April Kepner's bed and unknown to him the red head finally two hours later followed suit.

When he woke up he was aware of red hair in his face and a part of his body aligned with Aprils.

It appeared that they had fallen asleep on top of each other. He looked around trying to seek out what had woke him but it wasn't until his eyes strayed near the door that he caught sight of it.

It was Hugo, he was watching with a strange expression on his face, almost like smugness for a second they stared at each other and then Hugo gave a strange little shrug before disappearing. Jackson made to follow him or at least tried to but the bed was warm and it had been so long since he had gotten a good night's sleep. April had covered them with a blanket and he was so sleepy that he fell back to sleep again.

April was gone in the morning and Jackson followed her act of pretending that the night before had not happened.

He did not remember Hugo that night.

But he did acknowledge that it was the best night's sleep that he had had in a while.

* * *

 **Next Chapter-8x18-The Lion Sleeps Tonight-There is a lion wandering around Seattle and April and Jackson talk when she confides that she thinks she might have been mistaken when it comes to keeping her virginity. Might be a short chapter. **


	60. 8x18-The Lion Sleeps Tonight

**Hi, so here is another chapter, as I have said this is going to be a mass update as we head to the closing of this story.**

 **And we only have four more chapters left.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine just Hugo and Aidan.**

 **And let me know what you think.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 60-8x18-The Lion Sleeps Tonight.

An escaped lion proves distraction for Hugo and Aidan and Jackson struggles when he hears that April is thinking about losing her virginity before the boards.

* * *

They were in the car when it happened. And Jackson wasn't sure until they arrived at the hospital that it had happened because it seemed so extraordinary that he didn't think it was possible. He had agreed to give the boys a lift to the library where they had claimed that they were going in order to grab some books for an upcoming test and if Jackson's brain hadn't been so filled with trying to remember the steps for a case of advanced surgical removal of tumours in the stomach he would have called them out on it because since when did Hugo and Aidan volunteer to go to the library? That being said Mark was up his ass and April was acting strange so he pushed back the flimsy excuse to the back of his brain and he pretended that he didn't notice that they only had the one book between the two of them.

That was when it happened.

He had agreed to give April a lift as well and while he was unsure what the hell was going on with her she had slid into the car on time with a casserole for lunch so he supposed it couldn't be too drastic. Instead he focused on the road in front of him. He was just calculating weather or not the car on the left was Derek and Meredith's when he heard the screaming.

The volume was enough that both the kids in the back looked up from their phones something which Jackson once upon a time ago would have said was nothing short of a near miracle but he found that he couldn't because...there was a lion crossing the road.

For a second he thought the stress had finally got to him.

"Holy shit" said Hugo and for once Jackson couldn't find it in him to disagree or voice some kind of disapproval at his son's choice of language because there was a fucking lion crossing the street.

"Were all seeing this right?" Aidan asked sounding kind of faint and he felt April nod to his left. "Ok" Hugo said finally once the king of the jungle had crossed the street.

"We are so going to the hospital with you no question" and with that Jackson finally remembered that he had to put the car in gear and get it to move so that he wouldn't hold up traffic. He swallowed the bile in his throat.

With any luck there would be a few good trauma's that would so desperately need his attention.

* * *

They arrived at the hospital in record time as the first trauma, a man with half his arm ripped off was screaming to high heaven, Hugo and Aidan promptly legged it in order to find seats in the OR gallery. Jackson couldn't blame them nor could he stop them, not now he knew.

It was Doctor Webber that he had the surgery with. The old man was practically giddy at the thought of operating on a lion injury and when Jackson found a tooth he practically had a fit. Jackson honestly couldn't see what was so exciting about a lion ripping apart a guy that had just wanted to try his hand blind dating someone but he was distracted because everytime he looked up Hugo was there watching his face animated.

Doctor Webber tutted.

"Somehow I'm not surprised there here" he said bitterly.

"If I thought that there was a way I could get rid of them I would" Jackson replied because it always made him feel nervous whenever Hugo and Aidan were watching him operate.

Doctor Webber shook his head looking both irritated and amused by it.

"I had Meredith Grey in that gallery more than once so don't blame yourself. Some kids they just can't stop themselves" he shook his head again and then looked at Jackson with a gaze that seemed older than the man himself. Jackson had never considered Richard Webber as old. The man seemed to be standing there no matter what, through thick and thin, he had lost two women he had loved to a deadly disease that there was no cure for and he had given up so much to be where he had been now. But he had never looked old, maybe that was just something that came with doing a job that you both loved and knew that you were right for. Jackson found himself hoping that he too would end up like that. Still doing what he loved for the rest of his life and still getting excited about it.

Webber was still looking at him and Jackson felt he was measuring him up. It was both unnerving and familiar all at the same time. Jackson had been looked at like that too many times for it to be a good thing and he found himself fully expecting some sort of reprimand or some sort of complaint about him that Webber had or had picked up. He wanted to take it standing but wasn't sure he could. Not from Richard Webber anyhow.

There was a pause as they stood there over the patient on the table and the lion tooth in the tray and then Webber smiled. "You did good Avery" he said and then he turned to close up the patient leaving Jackson both stunned that he had gotten a rare bit of praise and then he smiled, because...well a lion tooth was in the tray next to him and he had just pulled it out of the man's stomach.

"I thought that you might wanna take this" Webber said handing out the tooth between his fingers. Jackson stared at it for a second and then took it smiling as the surgeon passed him after he had scrubbed out. There was a pause when Jackson stared at it and then he laughed once to himself and stepped out of the OR. He had something that nobody else did. Well he had two things, Hugo and now a lion's tooth.

* * *

"Do you know" Hugo said as he and Aidan spent most of lunch examining the lion's tooth. "This might be the best thing that you have ever given us, or given me anyway"

"Oh good" Jackson said over his forkful of pasta. "I'll remember that the next time you want your phone updating or unlimited minutes"

Hugo pouted. Jackson sighed and checked his watch, he really wanted to go and speak to April and now while the teenagers were acting like kids and everything seemed slow and normal again. He found her near the Nurses station on the NICU ward, it seemed that everyone had disappeared.

"So what's wrong?" he asked. She jumped took one look at his face and then realised that he could now read through the very bad April Kepner lies.

"I think I want to lose my virginity before the boards" she said in a rushed whisper.

And that was enough to make Jackson's brain officially stop. April was still talking but all he could see in his head was April and all her pretty red hair and her trusting eyes in the arms of some guy that didn't have a clue what he was doing and was all rough and...Well...uneducated.

There was a pause where he stood there and listened to her talk about how she wanted to cross every milestone before the big one, about how she thought she was ready, about how she had lost all of her romantic notions about the thing and that how she was tired of being looked at like a freak.

"It's not just that this place is like High School it's...well everything, and...And I didn't want to bring any kind of regret into the biggest test that I will ever take."

Oh shit.

Jackson gaped at her trying to find other words that did not start with Hell and end with No with a few other choice words in between. Instead he swallowed. How had this day started out so good and ended up with this landing on his lap. He swallowed again listening to April talk though god knows what he was saying back. Instead he had to think hard.

But one thing was for sure, he needed to stop this mad fucking plan from taking place. He had to make a move now, before the boards, he had to tell his best friend that he was in love with her, and he needed to lay all his cards onto the table. But before he did that, Jackson also knew that he needed to have a conversation with Hugo about it, he had promised his son complete honesty and complete honesty was what he was going to get.

Jackson had to tell Hugo that he wanted to move things forward in his relationship with April.

And he had to do it now.

* * *

 **Next Chapter-8x19-Support System-Mark becomes Chief for the day making Jackson's life unbelievably hard as he tries to have a conversation with Hugo about where he wants to take a step forward in his life. Meanwhile Hugo gets a shock when someone comes to his door...someone very well known. **


	61. 8x19-Support System

**Hi, so here is a new chapter, as I have continually said this and the other final three chapters will be updated in a mass update so enjoy.**

 **And I have wanted to bring back Charlotte for some time and here she is.**

 **And only three chapters left.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine other than Hugo, Aidan and Charlotte.**

 **Please read and review.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 61-8x19-Support System

Mark becomes Chief for the day making Jackson's life unbelievably hard as he thinks about finding the way forwards to having a conversation with Hugo about where he wants to take a step forward in his life. Meanwhile Hugo gets a shock when someone comes to his door...someone very well known.

* * *

April was feeling good, surprisingly good about her decision to lose her virginity pre the boards. She didn't care about what people thought of her anymore it was the fact that right now she could feel the need to do something...do someone, and she had never felt like that before. Even when she late at night thought about it she couldn't help but let her attention get divided by the thought of finally taking that step with a man that found her attractive.

Ok, so that was a lie. There was only really one man that she wanted to lose her virginity to and now it seemed that, that ship had sailed so she was really stuck with what she had. And that was not much either.

Though she could confirm that the Alex Karev boat had sailed a long, long time ago much to her relief and later embarrassment at the fact that she thought that that had been a good idea.

She knew deep down who she would like to lose her virginity to and therefore she knew that it never would happen. There was a pause where she stood over breakfast thinking hard about whether or not she was sure she wanted to do this before she sat the biggest test of her life. Did she really want to piss of God now?

And then the voice in her head that always sounded so unnervingly like Meredith Grey told her that God had hardly done her any favours since she had joined the surgical staff of Seattle Grace Mercy West, she had been shot at, she'd lost her best friend, been fired and then rehired in quick succession and she had been given a job that fundamentally she still did not feel like she was right for. This was the only little bit of confidence that she still had. She could choose when and to who she could lose her virginity too and if Jackson didn't want it then she was going to find someone who did.

Maybe she wasn't as pretty as Meredith or Cristina or Lexie but April knew that she was hardly ugly. She had grown out of childhood teasing and she knew that when she walked into a bar there was a good chance that at least one person would spend a second staring at her...and...And she was lonely.

There was a pause where April had considered over the scrambled eggs whether or not it would be detrimental to their friendship if she asked Jackson to accompany her to an on-call room. Then she remembered. Jackson had a son with a woman who he had never talked about and had just broken up with Lexie. And ok, April did not know the entire story behind what had happened between Jackson and Lexie or Jackson and the mother of his son but she knew that both had been long and difficult relationships for him. She couldn't try and take the place of someone that he had lost his heart too. And besides, they were the only two left that had come over in the initial merger. The other two had been robbed of life far too soon and there were days when she still looked at Meredith and Cristina and the bond they had and felt her heart ache whenever she remembered Reed.

Reed would tell her to stop whining and just as Avery to do what was necessary. Those would be her exact words as well, April just knew. She shook her head once or twice when she imagined her best friend and her way of speaking. Not a day didn't go by where she still didn't feel the sting of Reed's death and the loss of her best friend as well as the pain that came when she realised that she would never get to see Charlie smile that goofy smile. They had never been close but April remembered when she had first been an intern and she had lost her first child patient. Charlie had gone AWOL at the risk of his resident finding out to find her chocolate pudding to cheer her up. Despite everything they had been a close group the four of them. Now it was whittled down to two and she was in love with the last survivor.

And April knew what love was. She had dreamt about it for too long, there was a pause where she stood there thinking watching her eggs burn as she tried to figure out her feelings and square them away before the three men that she was cooking for came out hungry and looking for their breakfast. She did not throw the word Love around lightly. But she did love Jackson, and she loved Hugo and she also loved Aidan. Bit by bit they had all wormed their way into her heart, putting together the pieces of a family that she had once envisioned herself wanting.

Binning the now burnt eggs April shook her head feeling tears burn at her eyes.

She shook them away reaching for a new batch.

She had known what she was getting into when she moved into this place with Jackson and she knew how this was going to end. Guys like Jackson did not go for girls like her.

And with that rather morose conclusion she turned back to the eggs.

* * *

Jackson had spent the last hour staring at his phone, so much so that Hugo eventually put down his fork and asked.

"What the hell is wrong with you Dad?"

"April" he said in a rather faint voice. "Can you check your email and tell me that you're reading the same email from Sloan that I am"

April looked confused but flipped on her phone and checked her email. Her eyebrows rose in confusion and then horror.

"Good God" she said in a stunned kind of horrified amusement.

"Ok what did we miss?" Aidan asked over a mouthful of toast. April snorted a laugh and then turned back to the coffee mug in her hand smothering his grin.

"Mark Sloan has been named Chief for the day as Owen Hunt is off sick" Jackson groaned resisting the urge to bang his head on the table. He slid the phone to Hugo and tried to think off the top of his head an excuse to get out of work that wouldn't have Mark Sloan coming to the front door of his apartment banging about the Plastic Posse and how hard they had been working towards the boards.

So far he got nothing.

"Wow" Hugo said finally sliding the phone back. "That makes you kinda the Chief's bitch for the day doesn't it?"

Such was the truth of this statement that Jackson couldn't see a way to correct his son's language without letting it on to him that he was one hundred percent right about what he had just said.

"This" he bemoaned into his eggs and coffee. "Is going to be an unbearable day."

Hugo snickered.

* * *

Alex had just been eating his third bowl of cereal out of the box when there was a knock on the door.

The back door.

He shook his head and then the knocking persisted. Honestly. Didn't people realise that he had just come of a double shift watching a baby that was once again at death's door and trying to avoid his mother who was falling in love with him. And yeah, he had cottoned on to that thank you Doctor Robbins.

He scowled, Lexie hadn't had chance to wash her hair in three days and therefore took her morning off to lock herself in the shower and scrub an inch worth of hospital grime of her skin. Derek and Meredith had realised that Zola was now sleeping through the night and they could have sex again and therefore were not being seen until the very last second.

He opened the door scowling. There was a girl there, she had short blonde hair that reminded him so helplessly of Izzie. She stared at him tilting her head to the side.

"Hey are you Alex? Or are you Derek? No wait...Crap I could never remember"

Alex stared at her. She had to be about fifteen and suddenly he knew who she was...well he didn't but he knew who would know her. He had known that living with two teenagers would be trouble, like Aaron and Amber all over again, though he supposed this one didn't look crazy or had a kid with her so that was a good start.

"Hugo or Aidan" he asked finally.

"Hugo" she said looking confused. "Did Aidan move in? Wow" she said to herself. "You go on your father's sabbatical to Norway so he can look at the architecture and study and then I come back and find those two are living together? Fucking hell" she shook her head.

"You want the address, because they moved out. To like...down the street" he shook his head and she followed his expression with wide eyes.

"Oh great" she asked taking a screenshot of the address that Alex held up for her.

She disappeared before he could ask her, her name.

Well. Good luck to Baby Avery when he got a hold of this angry blonde after him.

* * *

Hugo and Aidan had come home early. Well. Hugo had come home early because Aidan had upchucked all over the teachers shoes in Homeroom. It seemed that the stomach flu that had been going through the school like wildfire and therefore Hugo had taken him home least Aidan get lost in a favoured induced dream and end up walking barefoot on the sidewalk singing the Beatles. Which was not...beyond the realms of possibility when you thought about it.

The doorbell rang and Hugo stormed over to open it leaving Aidan shivering under the covers. He opened it and nearly dropped his coffee mug on the floor.

"Hey" the girl on the other side of the door said to him and Hugo swore many times in his head because really it was the last person he'd expected and he couldn't stop his heart from skipping a beat.

"Hey" he said back unable to stop the smile curving his lips.

Because standing on the other side of the door looking so much healthier than when he had first saw her with a shard of glass in her leg was Charlotte Winters.

* * *

 **Next Chapter-8x20-The Girl With No Name-As Jackson works on a case that is painful and horrific to everyone involved, April takes care of Aidan when he comes down with the stomach flu, and as Charlotte returns Jackson and Hugo have a long overdue conversation about the women in their lives and their new strange family. **


	62. 8x20-The Girl With No Name

**Hi, again here is another chapter, this one finally deals with the Hugo and Jackson conversation, also it begins the wrapping up of this story as the next chapter is the one that we have all been looking for.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine just Hugo, Aidan and Charlotte and Hugo's mother briefly mentioned Liv.**

 **Please read and review.**

 **And two more chapters left, the next one will deal with the boards and the one after that will be part of the episode but mostly an epilogue.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 62-8x20-The Girl With No Name

As Jackson works on a case that is painful and horrific to everyone involved, April takes care of Aidan when he comes down with the stomach flu, and as Charlotte returns Jackson and Hugo have a long overdue conversation about the women in their lives and their new strange family.

* * *

He had left the OR shaking.

He had not been the only one. Meredith had left the OR with a look in her eye that reminded Jackson of the time where she had stood in an OR room facing down a shooter in order to save her husband's life. Bailey had left the OR room in tears and if Mark and Derek had both promptly informed the Chief that they were both going to the nursery to check on their own children then he pretended that he wasn't in hearing distance of that anymore. There was a pause where he stood there and tried to think of way he could just walk out of the OR room and call Hugo and then he decided that he was going to do it anyway. Right now there was a child in the hospital who had been beaten and raped by a man probably starting when she was still a child and right now he had to go and call his and make sure he was still...alive.

And Aidan.

Things had been strange since he had gotten home the night before when Mark had been Chief and saw his son on the couch talking with a pretty blonde girl. Her name had been Charlotte and she was the girl Hugo had long ago dated or at least tried to date back when he was trying to get something together with Lexie. She had been the one that Jackson remembered his son having his hand in her leg. She had also suffered from a short blast of PTSD following that incident and her father had come up with the plan that he should take a transfer for a year from his company and go to Norway to see the sights with his daughter and wife.

Wouldn't they all be so lucky to get to do that when things got tough? Jackson would have bailed on this place years ago he knew. And now she was back it seemed that she was interested only in being Hugo and Aidan's friend. Though a part of him didn't doubt that she wanted more. However he had come home to see a very sick Aidan curled on the couch with the stomach flu that seemed to have passed to most kids in the day care including Sofia, thankfully Hugo seemed to have passed this time to get sick which Jackson could not help but be grateful for. He really did not want to go the boards with a sick child back at home that he would constantly worry about. They had been curled on the couch the three of them watching re-runs of Blue Bloods when he and April had come in.

They both had decided to set up an IV for Aidan and April and him were taking turns the week before the boards to spend the day and the night at home so that if something went wrong and experienced Doctor was with Aidan should something go wrong.

But how much was he wishing that he had taken the night shift when he was dealing with this case.

But little did he know that when April came back the next day full of stories about a parents painful reunion with their thought dead daughter, and the truly sickening story about how she had fractured her pelvis giving birth or trying to give birth to her rapist's baby when she was thirteen. At that point Jackson went and opened the scotch and made a mental note-and a promise that Hugo and Aidan would not be at the hospital that week while this girl was in their care. He knew that with social media this girl would become a press case but as a father he couldn't help but wish he could wrap his son in cotton wool...at least until they confirmed they had the fucking bastard that had hurt that little child in custody.

And really. Her mom had just taken her eyes of her in a store for a second. How many times had Jackson done that when he was stressed and panicking about his internship or his studies or getting into the next surgery and he had turned around and Hugo had toddled off somewhere? Most of the time it had been innocent but once he had been in a mall and Hugo had crawled off and fallen asleep in a bunkbed and Jackson had nearly aged ten years in the ten minutes it had taken to find him.

He and April drank the scotch in silence and then April was off on her flight to LA. Jackson was due there two days later, they were fifth years and they were all looking for fellowship jobs. A part of Jackson was hoping that they would end up in LA together and a part of him hoped that they did not. It was all very confusing.

Meredith and Derek it seemed were heading to Boston it seemed, Alex was being head hunted by all the greats including he heard a horrifying rumour John Hopkins and Cristina was being chased after by the entire West and East coast of hospitals.

He had quite a few options to. Mark had connections and he had friends and he so very rarely taught that when he did people knew it was good. So Jackson had many options the best of them, in Boston, LA, New York and one in Louisiana with a burn unit were they grew actual human skin.

Well they were the four places anyhow that his mother, Aidan and Hugo could all agree would have cheap living and good schools as well as good advantages. His fellowship would take him a year maybe two and then he was looking for five to six years in a place doing ground breaking surgery. He didn't want to move again until Aidan and Hugo had graduated and then there was no point in worrying about what district the schools were in.

He also knew his mother was beginning to send his son brown paper files on the Harper Avery Foundation. Hugo was supposed to take his place on the board but Jackson had kept it quiet for months now because he didn't need that kind of conversation or meeting with his grandfather any time soon when the last one had been so disturbing and had made him and Hugo so angry.

But moving past that he was more focused on talking with his son about the problem named 'Charlotte' as he had taken to calling it in his head.

* * *

Jackson had to admit that his son was already a better man than he was and there was very little that he could do that would upset him or make him think any less of him but he had to admit the one thing that would keep him up at night the most was the idea that Hugo could follow in his footsteps and end up with a baby on his arm and no clue how he was going to piece his life together.

And it was that, that had Jackson knocking on his son's door when he got home from that day where he had seen that girl struggling to find something to eat and Mark Sloan had dragged him away from the table by the ear because Jackson had wanted to change his appointment with some hospital because for once he wished he could be at home with his son for one night this close to the boards.

"Hey" he said sticking his head around the door. April was in the next room checking on Aidan's temperature, his fever had been spiking pretty high but Jackson knew the timeline for this kind of flu. Soon they would be over and they could focus more on their revision, hoping against hope that Hugo or either one of them wouldn't come down with this flu.

Hugo was sat on the bed doing his homework. Jackson dithered at the door but eventually he opened it, shut it behind him and sat down on the desk chair before he could talk himself out of what he was going to do.

"So I wanted to talk to you before I got on a plane for New York, you know April's gonna be out the state for the week as well"

"Yeah" Hugo said looking up. "And I also know you instructed Doctor Bailey to check in on us at least once a day and that woman can smell party like a sniffer dog at an airport so don't worry, place will still be left standing when you come back"

"Yeah...party's not what I was worried about, I was worried about Charlotte..."

"Charlotte" so now he definitely caught Hugo attention, his son stared at him for a very long second and then he snorted his laughter.

"Oh my god, you think me and Charlotte...no...no were just friends promise"

Jackson decided not to poke the bear, living in denial had done him alright so far and he honestly wasn't sure if he wanted to start questioning everything the week before he took the biggest exam of his life.

"It's just...i remember what It was like to be in love when your fifteen"

"Dad" Hugo said holding up his hand. "Seriously you sound like a Taylor Swift song. Also, Charlotte and I are just friends, that's what she came back for. She doesn't want a relationship"

"Ok" Jackson said and then he decided to plough on with this conversation anyhow.

"I remember what it was like being in love. Powerful thing"

Hugo stared at him. "You loved Mom?" he asked finally. Jackson nodded. "Yeah, I did then, or I thought I did. Your mom had this way of managing to make everything better. She would just know what was wrong before you came out with it. You kinda have that quality as well"

Jackson took another breath.

"I need to talk to you about something, when this exam is over, I am going to ask April on a date" he swallowed carefully looking at Hugo's face should it show any sign of disapproval at the plan.

Hugo stared at him for a long time and then started laughing.

"Oh" he said once he had gotten himself under control.

"Oh if only you knew" he said still sniggering. He caught sight of Jackson's confused expression and then beamed.

"Dad" he said finally. "If you're asking for permission or a blessing or whatever then you more than have it. Trust me."

Jackson nodded and then decided to take it as it was, his son giving him approval. He paused when he got to the doorway. "I'll text you from New York?"

"Yeah" Hugo said still smiling.

Jackson nodded.

* * *

He didn't realise until later, that he never asked Hugo what was so funny. In that light, laughing like that he noticed how much he looked like his mother, like Liv, all laughs and smiles. He took a moment to remember that, remember the girl that he had once loved before he went out and tried to start something knew with another girl that he knew he loved.

He had never asked Hugo what was so funny about him asking April out and then he paused and settled back into his plane seat feeling his eyes close sleepily.

His last thought before sleep claimed him was that it was probably best if he didn't know.

* * *

 **Next Chapter-8x21-Moment Of Truth-The residents head to San Diego in order take their boards and Jackson and April put all their cards together on the table resulting in a climax to their relationship that has been building for months if not years.**


	63. 8x21-Moment Of Truth

**Hi, so here it is the penultimate chapter and the one that you were all waiting for, this turned out a little different in my head but I decided to keep it close to the episode rather than deviating of the beaten path by writing my own script.**

 **Again a massive thank you to all of you, the next chapter will be the final one and will be renamed in order for it to be the epilogue that this story deserved.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

 **And again the final six chapters of this story will be updated as part of a mass update so the next one will be final one. Hope you all enjoy.**

* * *

Little Lion Man

Chapter 63-8x21-Moment Of Truth

The residents head to San Diego in order take their boards and Jackson and April put all their cards together on the table resulting in a climax to their relationship that has been building for months if not years.

* * *

It was here. The boards were here. The biggest moment of their lives were here and all Jackson could feel was a burning urge to get this over with. This had been hanging over his life for so long he wasn't sure what he was going to do without this added worry and pressure. He wasn't sure what he was going to do once this was over. And come a good result and a bad result he was glad that this was over.

Aidan had dragged himself out of bed now looking a bit brighter and standing on his own two feet again. The damn flu had been running around the entire hospital like wildfire, hell the entire state. God knows how many cases they had now and it seemed that Zola had also caught the bug as well according to Alex, which had left Meredith worried about going on the trip in the first place. Even Alex had struggled to leave a little baby that was close to death. All in all Jackson thought that he was leaving with admittedly less to worry about than his fellow residents.

Hugo was waiting for him with Aidan. Mark had walked him out of the hospital muttering about what he had to do once he arrived. The boys walked over to him just as Mark was instructing him to order fish for dinner and to make sure that it was fresh fish rather than frozen because the energy was better. Jackson didn't listen to him going so far as to tell him that he actively wasn't listening to him.

"How are you on cash?" Mark asked producing what to be at least a grand in cash. Jackson took it because...well it was at least a grand in notes and the least Mark could do was buy him dinner.

"And don't worry about Baby Avery and Baby Avery's boyfriend" Mark continued ignoring Aidan's spluttering over the coffee he was drinking, further proof that he was on the mend and Jackson didn't have to either worry or feel guilty about leaving them alone...more than he was going to anyway.

"I will ensure that they are well looked after"

Aidan really did spit into his coffee in surprise.

Jackson shot Mark a withering look the cash still in his hand. The last thing he needed while both he and April were out of town was that Mark Sloan was going to be responsible for two teenage boys as well as a baby.

Mark ignored him so Jackson felt compelled to speak least he learn via a news outlet that his son and his best friend were caught joyriding with a middle aged surgeon drunk and trying to pick up women old enough to be their mothers. "No thank you" he said finally. "I have Doctor Bailey feeding them and Derek promised to check in at least one a day or ring...so..."

Jackson nodded allowing Mark to talk some more even though it seemed that nobody was listening to him, there was a pause where Jackson flipped open the first couple of hundred notes and passed them to Hugo and Aidan walking away from his mentor so he could get on the bus before he had a complete mental breakdown, or April could which seemed more likely considering she was sobbing in a combination of both panic and fright.

"So I'll...err..."

"Oh I'll just go" Hugo said allowing Jackson to hug him. He tried to say as much as he could into that hug, how much he loved his son and how much he knew that he would have never been able to do this on his own without him, he closed his eyes and hoped that Hugo got the message. Judging by the way that he was hugging him back he thought that Hugo did but Jackson closed his eyes in order to let his emotions get under some form of control.

"Avery"he pulled back to see Hunt staring at him, the older man's eyes were filled with some sort of envy. He remembered with a startling clarity that Hunt and Cristina were struggling with not only their marriage but the fact that should they remain together children were not an option. Once upon a time Jackson supposed he might have felt the same thing but he couldn't imagine a life now without Aidan never mind Hugo.

"Yeah I know we gotta get going" he clapped Aidan on the shoulder and the boy nodded at him in some sort of show of emotion. He remained him in an undertone to take his pills and to call Doctor Bailey if the stomach flu returned and then climbed on the bus.

He took a seat next to April who was already sobbing into her sleeve and let her rest her head on his shoulder.

He lay his head back on the seat, something about this made him think of both Charles and Reed. The four of them had never been close as the four residents but they had formed a bond during their early days at the hospital and now it was confusing imagining the life that they could have had, the four of them travelling on this bus trying not to freak out about the tests that they were about to take and what happened when they failed.

It only made him miss them more now he came to think about it. All he wanted to do was to think about the test that was coming up and how he was hopefully going to smash it.

* * *

And then he found out his mother was in town.

* * *

He had been sat down for just a second when he was forced out of his seat by April pointing her finger at Meredith as if she was on trial for murder. There was a pause where she had stood there and pointed and Jackson's already screwed up brain and he forced himself to his feet.

It seemed that April and Cristiana had figured out that Meredith had come down with Zola and by association Aidan and Sofia's stomach bug. April seemed to have in her panic whipped it up into a conspiracy and even Alex who most of the time was Captain of the Meredith Defence Squad instructed the woman to stay where she was until they got her room sorted out and she was safely quarantined and not a danger to anyone else taking the test.

April was still crying and Alex left the room half way through the revision so that just left him alone in the room with a woman that couldn't stop sobbing every few seconds with both fear and worry about this test. The surgical boards Jackson realised were a lot more hassle than they were worth, it might have been the last thing standing between him and the career of his choice. Eventually after several hours where he was staring at the same diagram on the book in front of him he finally decided to take April out to dinner, a bit of food and some wine had never hurt anyone and he had switched off his phone leaving it on charge after getting several text messages from Hugo indicating that he and Aidan were alright and could Jackson just focus on the test and not on whether or not they were spending the one hundred bucks that he had given them this morning.

And that was when the prick arrived. From what Jackson could gather this man had taken particular dislike to April for taking a job offer from him unknowingly. The way he was talking, plus the fact that he had been drinking already had Jackson's hackles raised and when the bastard, ignoring his best friend lifted a lock of April's hair he felt a snarl rising between his teeth, however before he could turn around and give the guy a well-deserved deck in the jaw, April turned around her hair flying over her shoulder, her temper well and truly snapped in two and then she was over the top of the guy and was punching the hell out of him.

Jackson took a moment to fully appreciate the sight that was April Kepner kicking arse and another moment to fully appreciate what Reed's reaction would be to this and then he saw Doctor Webber who he suspected was here to regulate the test come into the dining room. Knowing that the aged surgeon would not like the idea of two of his residents fighting in the middle of a bar brawl that was steadily getting out of control.

And then Doctor Webber was kicking them out of the bar before they got disqualified. Jackson fell half stumbling, half laughing with April all the way back to her room. They hadn't even had that many to drink but he could feel the years falling of him. It was a dangerous feeling, he had never felt like this with Lexie, like he could jump from a building and still survive, like he could be himself. The last time he could remember feeling like this he had been with Liv and she had asked him if he had a condom, and then that was that, his whole life had gone or so it had seemed in the space of an hour.

He would be damned if he made the same mistake again.

But he was abruptly cut off from his mental thoughts by a pair of warm lips on his.

April Kepner was kissing him.

It had been so long since he'd been kissed and so long had he wanted this he could do nothing more than stand there and let her kiss him, it took him a second before his brain kicked in and then he found that he was kissing her back with a hunger than he had never possessed.

And he was the one that took April Kepner's virginity.

Twice.

When they were done Jackson took a breather trying to catch his breath and unable to stop the giggles.

There was nothing that could stop him from saying what was on his mind so he just said it, and if he was burning his life to the ground then he was going to say it anyway, and he was going to say it loud.

"I love you"

April blinked at him once and then her smile was so blinding it nearly stopped Jackson's heart. She leaned over and kissed him gently.

"Moment of truth," she said "I love you too"

Jackson smiled and curled his body around her so her head was on his chest and the red hair was between his fingers.

And as they say, the rest was history.

* * *

 **Next Chapter-8x22-Let The 'Good' Times Roll-A reworking of the episode and the final chapter of Little Lion Man-Jackson, Hugo, Aidan and April all adjust to the new normal and five years on we look at what life at Seattle Grey Mercy West and it's residents (ignores all series following Season 8 and the last two episodes). **


	64. 8x22-Let The'Good' Time Roll

**Hi, so here it is, the final chapter of this story. This story has been a labour of love for me and I am so glad to bring to an end, I introduced both Riggs and Amelia into this final chapter because I love both of them and I gave Teddy a happy ending as soon as I realised that she would be back for Season 14. I don't like Maggie, sorry to all those that do but Lexie was Meredith's sister not Maggie so therefore she is not included, no offence to anyone that likes her. I have renamed this chapter as I wanted to give everyone a happy ending. This chapter is split into two parts, Then-which correlates to the episode and then Now-which is everyone five years later.**

 **The lyrics at the beginning and the end of this chapter are from the song 'Little Lion Man' played by Mumford and Sons and inspired the title of this story.**

 **I want to say thank you to all of you for your kind reviews over the past sixty four chapters, I will be back to the Grey's Anatomy fandom very soon but the confidence you guys have given me during this story has been invaluable.**

 **Due to my going away and being denied WiFi I am uploading the final six chapters as one long mass update so please enjoy reading the final of Little Lion Man as I have writing it.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine but the happy ending all Grey's characters deserve, the children involved, Hugo, Aidan, Charlotte and Bonnie.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

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Little Lion Man

Chapter 64-8x22-Let The 'Good' Times Roll

A reworking of the episode and the final chapter of Little Lion Man-Jackson, Hugo, Aidan and April all adjust to the new normal and five years on we look at what life at Seattle Grey Mercy West and it's residents (ignores all series following Season 8 and the last two episodes). Split into two categories, Then and Now. 

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**_"_** ** _Rate yourself and rake yourself, take all the courage you have left_** ** _"_**

Then.

He had only called Hugo once during the entire test. Once.

And that was one more than what he had wanted to.

He had wanted to do the entire test without using his son as a fall-back but he couldn't help himself when he allowed himself a break and finally allowed himself to call the one person that he wanted to he found that he was nervous. He had slept with April Kepner and had just found out that his mother was sleeping with his boss, or his ex-boss, or his married co-worker either way it was a nightmare when he staggered out of another person's room the scent of sex still on his skin to find his mother doing the exact same thing.

He took his first break and rang Hugo. It was well after noon but his son took a long time in answering, Jackson just knew that he had spent the entire night up watching movies and had probably only fallen asleep when Jackson had earlier this morning done so himself.

"Ugh"

"Hello to you too son"

"Oh, oh crap is this the phone call I get when you're having a crisis of confidence because I promised Sloan that I would ring him when you did this and he would be the one that talked some sense into you" there was some shoving in the background and someone that sounded like Aidan grunting in the background. Jackson rolled his eyes even though he knew that nobody could see him.

"I just..." he didn't know what he was asking his son for, well, he did but he didn't know if he could find the words. Words had never been his strong suit that probably explained a lot looking back.

"I need to know that whatever happens, now, later on, whatever happens I need to know that your...that were..." of for fucks sake Avery get a grip he chastised himself.

"Dad"Hugo said and there was more amusement in his voice this time rather than anything else.

"The only thing that you could ever do to make me not love you is do something stupid like nearly get burned to death or die"

Jackson took a deep breath.

"Love you" he said finally.

"Love you too" Hugo said smiling over the phone.

"Now go and kick ass"

And that was what he did.

The day after the test he spent the entire time constantly refreshing his phone and bemoaning everytime the Wi-Fi dropped. Finally as midnight turned, Hugo and Aidan came to sit on the bench in front of the ER, he noticed that Charlotte was also there, her hair tied back, the three of them were sharing a blanket and watching with wide eyes as Alex started snarling with nerves at nurses who were breathing to loudly and looking too happy.

There was a pause where the five of them were constantly refreshing and then Cristina screamed first. She had passed. Well that was no surprise Jackson thought watching her dance up and down the pavement.

Another scream, this one was Meredith, again not a surprise.

Alex had also passed. The guy who was usual so grumpy was now screaming and shouting and laughing with the only two residents who had been with him at the start of this journey.

Another second and then the scream came from April, she too had passed.

And then there was his results.

He had passed. He was now a board qualified surgeon,

And everything he had been working for, everything that he and Hugo had been working for, everything they had lost and gained had been successful, here was proof, to his mother, to his grandfather, to everyone that had doubted him that you could do something with your life and have a kid along for the ride.

He looked at Hugo for a second and knew his son just, knew.

And then Hugo's arms were around him and they were laughing the two of them. He clapped Aidan on the shoulder and smiled when Charlotte congratulated him. The five of them were dancing and screaming and cheering and totally blocking the ER door but he didn't care.

April was in closing distance and he reached out and then...he kissed her.

It may have been several minutes or perhaps days when he pulled back but he doubted any of his other residents would have noticed. Meredith had her husband half up against the wall and for a woman who had just recovered from a nasty bout of flu she was giving her husband a very deep kiss. Cristina was leaning against the wall and staring at Owen who was staring back at her and Alex seemed to be in a death grip with Arizona on one side and Lexie on the other.

There was a pause where he and April stood there staring at each other but then he realised that he had not told Hugo about the developments between him and his best friend. He turned to see Hugo standing there watching his dark eyes filled with some sort of emotion that Jackson had never seen before. Father and son stared at each other for a long second before Hugo made a little jerking with the side of his head which Jackson figured out was his son's way of saying 'Well go on then'.

And with that he suggested that perhaps they go down to Joe's for beer, burgers and perhaps, he and April could finally discuss the test.

Or other things.

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Now-Five Years Later

When you look back at the things that define you it's funny at how mundane they are. Because all you want to do is go back to how things were.

But funnily enough Jackson Avery MD and now a Fellow, had never thought that he had to, there were days were he still missed Charles and Reed so much that his stomach ached. But there were days when he had woken up and he had been too happy to think about the blood that had spattered the walls and the months of grief that he was struggling with in the aftermath.

His mornings consisted now of when he wasn't on-call feeding the three kids that he now had, though to be fair he only had to feed two of them seven days a week. But today was different. Today was the hospital fundraising picnic so that they could get more money in order to open a new Geno therapy lab and finally get Doctor Bailey off their backs.

April had been cooking all week whenever she had the time and the Tupperware dishes were filled with the stuff that she had made plus the two more that she had made because Meredith and a returning Cristiana had never done anything. Even his mother was coming down and more importantly Hugo, Aidan and he thought Charlotte and Bonnie were all returning from college.

After he had passed his test he noticed the four of them were becoming closer than ever before. The parallels between the four of them and him, April, Charles and Reed were clear, especially since his son and Charlotte were dangling on the edge of becoming a thing and Aidan and Bonnie had been a thing since graduation.

He had not known back then that he was feeding sometimes twice a week four doctors but that was it. Hugo had gotten into pre-med at John Hopkins-a fact his mother was still taking the credit for, Aidan had gotten Yale and the two girls had gotten Georgetown and Dartmouth respectively. His mother had married his boss and four years ago Jackson too had gotten married and when you say married he meant more of an elopement-again something his mother had never let him forget.

He forced himself out of bed, the house that he had bought months ago when they had had two under three's was big enough for Hugo and Aidan to come home and have somewhere to sleep. They were both here on weekend leave and were in the kitchen no doubt making a mess when it came to making breakfast for the other two kids in the house.

Because Jackson had become a father again, well, twice.

To Samuel and Harriet.

And he was thinking that three were probably enough.

Four if you included Aidan.

After a nice row with Aidan's father at his High School graduation which had ended up with nearly a fist fight he had started mentally in his head in his head calling the kid, son, he had only said it once but he knew Aidan appreciated the effort in the same way that Mark Sloan appreciated all Carolyn Shepherd had done for him.

But it hadn't just been him that had moved on in the five years since the medical boards had been passed. Everyone had.

His mother had married Webber and was splitting her time between being the chair of the Harper Avery Foundation following the death of his grandfather and had being with her husband who was still working with no intention of retiring.

Bailey was married, she had married Ben Warren two years ago and was still happily living with her son and her new husband, still screaming at the interns though she seemed to be taking one a DeLuca under her wing. Jackson didn't know much about him other than he was a good surgeon. Tuck was nearly Hugo's age when he had first arrived all those years ago and clearly idolised the two older boys who took time to include him and not struggle with the age gap that was presented with them.

Owen and Cristina had had a few ups and downs, they had decided to get divorced and then had spent the entire year of their divorce sleeping with each other, eventually Cristina had left to run her own department in Switzerland but Jackson was sure the two of them conversed over the phone more times than Cristina and Meredith did.

Alex was also somewhat settled down, he had started dating one of his interns and as far as Jackson knew that was still a strong relationship. It was strange seeing Alex so happy, he was so used to the bastard being miserable. He had moved into the now empty house that had once housed all of them. Though Jackson supposed at some point Alex would move out and it would house them all again. Maybe a different generation of wannabe surgeons.

Teddy had moved on to a position with the USA Army medical corps, she had moved back last year claiming the move had been too stressful but with her had come a new man, another doctor and a man following him. She was now dating Eli Matthews a trauma surgeon and a fellow vet who had made the move to the hospital and had brought home another surgeon called Nathen Riggs.

It had been Cristina who had gotten Owen to accept Riggs, the role he might have played in his sister's death and it was Derek who had finally accepted the fact that the new surgeon was dating his little sister Amelia if not tentatively when she decided that LA was not for her and she wanted to come down to see her big brother and eventually start living here.

Callie and Arizona were still happily married, after Sofia they had decided to go for another child just last year using a sperm donor. With Arizona not wishing to get pregnant and Callie unable to after her accident they had decided to use a surrogate and had last year their baby boy Oliver Robbin-Torres had been born.

Mark and Lexie were married too. Jackson had been right in thinking that Mark and Lexie were meant to be. They had kept it a secret until most of Lexie's fifth year had been over and then when she had passed the boards Mark had asked her to marry him and she had said yes. They had not she had assured all of them, been expecting a baby but she had fallen pregnant before she could start her Nuro Fellowship and her pregnancy had not been easy, she had been forced to have a C-section and both the baby and her had nearly bled out in the resulting confusion resulting in Addison Montgomery coming down and sorting the whole thing out herself.

But baby Ella Sloan had been born and while Lexie had insisted that that was the last time she was having a kid she was happy and Jackson found he held no regret over his relationship with Lexie. It had shown him who he was really in love with. And it had shown her as well.

Meredith and Derek had continued their strong bond. They already had Zola and then Meredith had surprised them all by becoming pregnant naturally a year later despite being told she couldn't. Baby Bailey had been born nine months later and Jackson knew the namesake still welled up whenever she saw the little McDreamy. Meredith was now pregnant for the third time and she told everyone and anyone that asked and most of the time when they did not, that this was the last time that she would ever find herself in this situation.

But they were happy that was the main thing, all of them were happy.

He forced himself out of bed and opened the kitchen door to see Hugo, his first baby boy helping his second baby boy Samuel to pour the milk into his cereal while Aidan was helping Harriet into the high chair.

"Morning" he said yawning after a second just watching them. Hugo ran a hand through his hair showing of the tattoo on his arm that had been a graduation drunken night aftermath thing that Mark Sloan had loved and Jackson had hated. "Morning" he said back moving so that Jackson could get access to the coffee pot.

"April's meeting us there, she had a late call at the hospital. Some woman dropped a coffee pot all over her and her husband because he pushed her over so she and Sloan have been working all night" Aidan said reaching for his phone underneath the mess of papers that littered the desk.

Jackson nodded watching Hugo swing his little brother into his arms amid the giggling.

"Come on then" he said hoping that the woman that sometimes came to clean their house would stop by today. April said it was an extravagance but Jackson said that with two kids and full time jobs having someone making sure that they were not coming home to a bomb site was better than nothing.

They got to the park with the food just in time to see Derek finding Meredith a chair while Cristina giggled into her bear bottle. Lexie sat next to her sister as Mark went around showing baby Ella where the paddling pool was where Jackson just knew he'd be taking Harriet shortly.

And there was April, she smiled at him as he approached hugging both Hugo and Aidan and his stomach still did that strange dipping thing when she kissed him. She took Harriet on her hip.

"Ok Sammy" Aidan said taking Samuel of Hugo "Let's go see if Bailey has food for the ducks, while Hugo gets both your big brothers some beers"

April patted Hugo on the shoulder and then moved to help Miranda Bailey with the pasta dish, and the garlic bread, Miranda Bailey didn't cook much but her garlic bread was the stuff of legend.

"You ok son?" he asked turning back to Hugo.

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 **Thank You will never be enough for all the kind words and support that you have given me in this story but I will say It anyway, thank you for everything and goodbye for now x. **


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